Arceus and its Protectors Of The Earth
by MelliniumorderArceus
Summary: Giratina and Groudon waited silently in the distorted dimension, planning their next move... Dialgia and Kyogre stirred awake, realizing that something precious is taken from them... The 3 sprites flew around nervously at the bottom of their lakes...
1. Chapter 1

**Arceus and its Protectors Of The Earth**

A/N: My first fanfic XD .I'm so excited!!! Slightly AU.

Age::

Ash: 16

Dawn: 13

Brock: 20

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the bucket of bolts and chips I'm using to type this story. All characters belong to their respective owners. Nintendo, Don't You Sue Me!

XxXxXxX

**Prologue**

_A pale yellow light streaked across the dark and cloudless Hoenn desert night sky. The tiny windows of the dug-outs prevented__ people from noticing it. Only a scholar, awakened by the light that peeked through his eyes, woke up and went outside. To his shock, he found a great green dragon-type pokemon waiting for him…_

_Somewhere else…_

_Giratina and Groudon waited silently in the distorted dimension, planning their next moves… _

_Dialgia and Kyogre stirred awake, realizing something precious is taken from them…_

_The three sprites, Uxie, Mesprite, and Azelf,__ started to fly around nervously at the bottom of their respective lakes… _

XxXxXxX

As usual, our three heroes, Ash, Dawn, and Brock have taken a longer route through the Hoenn desert to Fallabor City in their Hoenn Battle Frontier Quest. According to Brock's handy guidebook, there was a traditional Aearbfaebu festival coming up in the desert town ahead and they certainly do not want to miss it.

"According to my poketch, the town seems to be up in the valley ahead!" said Dawn excitedly as they climbed a relatively high sand dune.

"Last one to the town is a Stunky!" challenged Ash, who started to run.

"You're on!" said Dawn.

"Hey! I don't want to be a Stunky! Wait up!" said Brock.

And they went laughing down the dune.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 1 Strangeness**

A/N: Chapter two up. Thanks Raichu you have been of great help.

Disclaimer: Hem, hem. I solemnly swear that I do not own any characters or setting or etc. Not yet anyway.

XxXxXxX

Ash reached the valley first. Or rather, where the valley had been. It was completely flattened out and there were no signs of life anywhere.

"Hey, Dawn, where is that valley you told us about?" asked Ash, as he saw Dawn and Brock catch up to him. Both were panting heavily. Dawn was holding Brock for support. It was obvious that neither of them preferred to be a Stunky. They preferred their own bodies thank you very much.

"Uh, it's supposed to be right in front of you, right?" said Dawn, still panting.

They were staring right back at a wide basin of sand. It was sand, sand, sand for as far the eyes could see. Not even a Cacnea in sight.

"I think that the valley was flattened out by some strong Pokemon,maybe a legendary," said Brock, stating his opinion.

Ash and Dawn merely nodded. It was strange that Dawn's Poketch data was incorrect. It had just been updated. But after they gone through so many adventures especially those about Dialgia, Palgia, Dakrai, Giratina and Shaymin, they found themselves agreeing with Brock's opinion.

"But what kind of Pokemon could have such power?" inquired Dawn.

"I have no idea," admitted Brock.

"Let's get going then. Maybe the townspeople manage to move away before this Pokemon struck." Said Ash.

Dawn and Brock grunted in response. They were too tired to talk anymore. Might as well save their energy for walking.

A few meters of walking later, something happened.

Brock was walking when he fell back as though he got hit by an invisible wall.

"A few meters and you're falling already? Get up!" said Ash, while pulling Brock to his feet.

"I must be getting old, and I'm only 19 years old!" exclaimed Brock.

"Brock, you're 20 years old already," said Dawn, rolling her eyes. It was not the best thing to do when the sun is shining brightly. She shut her eyes immediately.

"Arghhhhh!" said Brock.

"All right you guys, could we all just shut up and walk?" said Ash.

They all agreed silently and continued walking through the never ending desert of hot, harsh sand.

A/N: Quite short, I think. Edited. Unfortunately I decided not to explain why Brock fell over.

Review please. Thank You. (*_*)


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 2 Saved**

A/N: What will happen next? Edited, with MUCH help from Raichu, the beta reader. Thank you, Raichu!

Disclaimer: Ha! Now I own a character! It's……just a villager. [sigh]. All characters belong to their rightful owners.

Nightfall. Ash, Dawn and Brock quickly tried to set up camp, eager for rest after the whole day of walking. Unfortunately, there was a very big problem about their tent. It would not hold still. The sand was too loose to hold the pitches.

"Brock! This tent is wobbling! How am I going to sleep in this thing?" asked Ash, hitting the tent pole in frustration. The whole thing came down within seconds.

"Ugh, Ash. Could you stop destroying our only tent?" said Dawn. Everyone was very tired, and tempers were running high.

"It's not my fault that the tent crashed down!"

"Of course not, Mr I-am-very-daft, it is NOT your fault when YOU hit the tent pole and the tent crashed down! Ohh no, it absolutely isn't your fault," said Dawn sarcastically.

Brock was tired of those two squabbling like children all the time.

"Quiet! You two! Do you want to attract Cacturnes here to eat us up?" This shut both their mouths up better than a barrel of super glue.

"Now, Ash, how about you let a pro show you how to actually set up a tent." whispered Brock.

With Ash and Dawn's help, the tent was quickly set up again and they went inside. Brock gave them a few dry biscuits and a little water.

"Finish it quickly; we don't want Cacturnes to pick up the scent, do we?"

Dawn finished her ration quickly in a very lady-like manner, Ash's, on the other hand, was gone the moment Brock gave it to him. They then turned off the lamp.

They slept soundly that night, unknown that someone was watching in air, a Flygon zoomed off after the light in the tent went out.

XxXxXxX

Meanwhile, at another unknown place...

"Team Elphar, ready to go?" asked a person. He was obviously the boss as everyone turned their heads to him when he was talking.

"Confirmed, sir," said another person who sat in front of a computer.

"Good. ETA to place from our current coordinates?"

"Exactly one hour, forty-four minutes and thirty-seven seconds if we go by 180 kilometers per hour, sir."

"Hmm, reduce it to 150 kilometers per hour, don't rush it too much."

"Yes, sir."

XxXxXxX

Night passed quickly in the desert. The trio woke up as the sun hit the horizon. They wanted to pack up, eat their breakfast and get a good start before it got too hot. After that, they resumed their walking.

Before long, the desert was as hot as a Magcargo's body.

"Strange, isn't it, Dawn?" asked Ash.

"What's strange?" said Dawn.

"A moment ago, when it was freezing cold, we want the sun; but now that it is boiling hot, we want the cold instead,"

"Heh,"

In spite of everything, Dawn smiled. Ash was trying to make a joke, trying to lift their spirits up. How sweet. Just then, Brock spotted something far ahead.

"Guys, is that what I think it is?"

Everyone squinted to see what Brock saw. A sand-stone made tower. It lift everyone's hopes up.

"But then again, it might be a mirage," said Brock, scratching his chin. Everybody sunk.

"I don't care. I'm taking that risk," said Ash, running towards it.

"Ash! Wait!" But Ash wasn't listening.

They had no choice but to follow him.

It turned out not to be a mirage. The tower was battered from sandstorms that frequented the desert. It was at least a hundred meters tall and half a hundred meters wide. Ash noticed that the windows on the tower were very small. Probably to keep too much sunlight from coming in, thought Ash. At least it could be a shelter and a place to rest for a while. Everyone went inside through the front door. There was a hole in the middle of the room they had entered.

"What time is it, Dawn?" asked Ash.

"It's….." Dawn pressed the button on her Poketch. But it only showed 88:88.

"My Poketch! It's not working!" screeched Dawn.

"Again?"

"Impossible! I got it checked and updated from the main company a week before!"

"Hello?" said a new voice.

Everyone turned to see a frowning person stepping off a platform that was raised up from the hole in ground. The man wore a long white coloured robe up to his calf. Ash, Dawn, and Brock each had matched looks of shock on their faces. Pikachu's cheek began to buzz with electricity.

"Who are you three, and what is your business here?"

A/N: this chapter was longer. Hope you could enjoy it! If you could spare time, review, wouldn't you, please? Unsigned reviews are accepted. Thank You.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 3 Jack**

A/N: Firstly, I would like to thank MasterReviewer for his reviews. It's been great help. Also, thank you Raichu for well, eh, everything. ([^_^])

Disclaimer: Yeah, finally I own someone! A certain person named Jack.

All characters belong to their rightful owners.

Ash, Dawn and Brock did not know what to do. They expected the tower to be one of the ancient ruins in the desert. There were not supposed to a living thing around here. Nevertheless, Ash opened his mouth to speak. Dawn and Brock hoped that he could say something polite, like introducing themselves. But what came out was truly unexpected.

"Are you human and are you alive?" asked Ash.

Dawn and Brock looked at each other and smacked their foreheads at the same time. They were both thinking the same thing, apart from the strong urge to kill Ash and throw his body to the Cacturnes, -- We are doomed.

However, the person who was standing on the platform instantly changed his frown into a small, but visible smile.

"Ah, yes. I see that you're all adventurers who decided to brave the scorched basins of sand without knowing or preparing for it or it's because you're searching for the village that was supposed to be in a valley?" asked the man.

Ash was surprised that he was both right on his suspicions.

"Both, I guess."

"Care to introduce yourselves?"

"I'm Ash, Ash Ketchum, from Pallet town. This is Dawn and Brock, my friends,"

"Hi," said Dawn nervously.

"Nice to meet you." Brock was more accustomed to meeting people from various places.

"Wait here. I need complete my duties before escorting you into the village."

Having said that, he went outside and took out a old fashioned Pokeball. A Flygon came out and hovered in the air. He nodded once to the Flygon and it took off in the air. It beat its wings quickly and whipped up a magnificent sandstorm, much to Ash's, Dawn's and Brock's amazement. Dawn had already took out her pink pokedex to check on Flygon.

"Flygon. Dragon and Ground-type pokemon. It whips up sandstorms with powerful beat of wings. Known as the 'desert spirit' Evolve form of Vibrava."

Just then, Ash and Dawn heard a voice emanating from everwhere around them.

"The ones have come. Let us rejoice. For the land will be rid of insanity from greed and power." it said.

They both looked around and found no one except themselves, Brock and the man, who was returning the Flygon back to his pokeball. But what was sure was that they were not mad.

"Did you hear that?" said the both of them at the same time.

"You could hear it too?" They pointed at each other.

"Then I'm not mad!" Both sighed in relief.

"Hear what?" asked Brock, bewildered by his two good friends' actions.

"He can't hear it, Dawn," said Ash, disappointed.

"Oh my," exclaimed Dawn.

"You mean the desert song?" said the man, walking back inside while a ferocious sandstorm was raging outside.

"What's the sand storm for?" asked Ash.

"To prevent unnecessary things from coming here. No, I don't mean you all." He quickly added.

"Does Flygon's have lyrics in it?" asked Dawn, wanting to sastify her curiousity.

"No," said the man, "but people had listened to stories about the desert songs with lyrics. Could you tell me about it, Ash?"

"The ones have come. Let us be happy. For the land will be rid of insanity from greed and power. Um, that's about it."

"Not 'be happy', Ash, it's 'rejoice', remember?"

"Hmm, intriguing. Oh my, in my haste, I've forgotten to tell you about my name. I'm Jack."

"Nice to meet you, Jack."

"Let's go to the village, shall we? Follow me."

Jack asked them to stand on the platform which they saw came up from earlier. He muttered a string of indecipherable words and it plunged straight down, while another slid into its place on top.

A/N: Flygon's pokedex reference is found at serebii .net dppt pokedex. I don't want to be a evil teen who keeps typing "BWAHAHA---" on my A/N, but review please. Ten seconds worth of words could mean a lot to me.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 4 **

A/N: Review please! Pray tell me what do you want do read, okay? Thank you all. Thanks, Raichu, for correcting my kezillion mistakes in the story.

Disclaimer: Apart from minor characters and a few people, I own nothing. All characters belong to their rightful owners.

As they went down the dark chute on the platform, they were silent. Ash, Dawn and Brock did not know what to expect. They were going down in a dark chute on a round metallic disc without a clue about what was at the other end, and Jack's presence did not reassure them. To be frank, they were scared and nervous.

After a minute or so, they reached the bottom. They were shocked. Ash expected it to be dark and gloomy; instead, the chute led them to a beautifully decorated room. There was even a welcome mat here. They stood there like fools for a while before Jack waved his hand in front of their eyes, asking for them to follow him. They went into another tunnel.

"As you can see, each room is connected by tunnels between them. They are like the roads in the outside world," said Jack. Ash, Dawn and Brock nodded.

As they approached the opening, Jack looked at his watch and jumped. It seems that he was late for something.

"Could you all handle yourselves? Straight up ahead is the Pokemon centre. Talk to Nurse Joy. Tell her you're visitors and that I brought you here, OK? I got to go," said Jack in one breath. He looked nervous. They all nodded. He then proceeded to run past them into the other room. Ash shrugged.

"Guess let's go then," said Ash, who started to walk again. The others followed. There was no turning back, because they didn't even know what Jack said to command the platform so that it could go up again. They could only go forward.

They went into the room and saw streams of people in it. Everyone wore the same long white and semitransparent robe they saw Jack wore, so they felt very out of place. One man even looked at Dawn's clothes before shaking his head.

They made their way to Nurse Joy, trying not to melt into liquid under everyone's gaze before reaching the counter.

"Hello, Nurse Joy. We're travelers and Jack sent us here," said Dawn, her voice shaking slightly. Beside her, Brock's lips were wobbling. Before they knew it, Brock was down on a knee and had his hands in a heroic pose. Ash bent his cap down to cover his reddened face while Dawn cringed, quickly tilted her head downwards, letting her long blue hair cover her face. Fortunately, Brock's Toxicroak came out, poison-jabbed Brock in the stomach, threw him over the shoulder and walked away before he could say anything.

"Is your friend all right?" asked the concerned nurse.

"As long as Toxicroak is with him, he is all right. Though I think he's developed an immunity from the poison already," said Ash.

"Okay then." She then handed Dawn neatly folded clothing. "Change into this quickly. Your clothes are a little too revealing here. The changing room is that way." She jerked a thumb towards her right hand side. Dawn hurried to the place.

"I don't think her clothes are too revealing," said Ash.

"Sleeveless tops and miniskirts are not appropriate here. The people here dislike excessive revealing of skin; girls and women should cover as much of their bodies as they can,"

"Oh."

A few minutes later, Dawn came out in a white robe.

_She looks beautiful in it_, thought Ash_, wait, did I just said that Dawn Berlitz was beautiful? Ash Ketchum, you block that thought right this instant!_

At the same time, Brock limped over.

"Nurse Joy, could you tell us where our rooms are?" asked Brock.

"You're the first visitor I have seen in 30 years, you know. But we still have rooms for you. Here's the key," said Nurse Joy.

Dawn was fiddling with her poketch. It still wouldn't work.

"May I see that please?" asked Nurse Joy, stretching out her hand.

She took a crystal casing and fit it over the poketch. Then, she pulled a very thin wire from the poketch and plugged it into the computer. A few minutes later, the computer beeped, "transmission complete!" She handed the poketch back to Dawn. To her surprise, it was working perfectly. It showed 3:00 p.m. The poketch also notified her of a new map application.

"The high concentration of magnetite here renders almost impossible to use any type of electrical appliances here. Fortunately, we managed to find a kind of crystal that has the ability to neutralize the magnetic field of magnetite, among other things. The new map is the map of the underground city. The crystal casing is embedded with a microchip that enables you to identify your location as the walls here are fitted with crystal receptors."

"There are crystal receptors here?"

"Every wall except the private rooms."

"Oh."

"Oh and one more thing before you follow the map to your quarters," said Nurse Joy, smiling.

"Yes?"

"Welcome to the town of Xaben."

XxXxXxX

Somewhere else at an unknown location,

"Director! Our informant at Xaben is requesting to see you. The person seems to have information." said someone.

"Put him in," said another.

"Yes, sir."

The electronic speaker crackled to life. A tinny voice came out. It spoke for a few minutes before closing.

"Asly, put Commander Salium through and tell him to change course. They're heading to Hoenn tonight."

"Yes, sir."

A/N: Damn, who is that Commander Salium, anyway? All will be revealed in future chapters. Review please. Thank you.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 5 Legends**

A/N: I don't what I'm writing next. Come on, god help me. Review, please.

_Italic—pokemon language translation_.

Disclaimer: Please, nobody sue me, please.

In another dimension,

Giratina hovered alone in the dimensional space, its limbs caressing a silver-coloured egg lovingly for a few minute before putting it back into its nest. It backed away slowly. Hundreds of Unown swarmed over it, orbiting the egg, forming a protective barrier over it. Giratina smiled, though it couldn't be seen on its face.

"_My child…"_ spoke Giratina, _"after ten thousand million years of waiting."_

It looked to its right side where a blue transparent egg lies encased within a blob of gel-like liquid.

"_Minaphy's egg,"_ it breathed, _"the prince of the ocean. Fione."_

It stared at it for a while before leaving. As it flew across the dimensional space to meet Groudon at the space portal, it thought about Arceus, Dialgia and Palkia, who were its kin and family, in a sort of strange way.

_The Great One rested after creating the universe. Its body began to spilt into multiple parts, both big and small, and from those parts the Pokemon descended and populated the Earth, from those parts humans came and lived on the Earth. From those parts, Legendaries were born, destined to rule and govern the universe which The Great One created. Space and time spilt, and Dialgia and Palkia were formed. Abstract emotions and knowledge spilt, and out came the three sprites, Uxie, the being of knowledge, Mesprit, the being of emotions and Azelf, the being of willpower, which were to help the young human races understand these feelings. The Great One also created a distorted dimenson in which it sentenced Giratina, its child, who was too violent to govern the unstable and wild dimension, in hope of calming it's heart and mind by showing it the consequences of wildness._

-- The Book of Pokemopolis. (Original title unknown.)

"_Father put much faith in me to govern this awful place, and turn it into a utopia; all was going well, until that accursed Dialgia, my elder brother, decided simply that its continuously expanding space was not enough, and attacked my second brother, Palkia. __It knew that Palkia wasn't his opponent. It knew that Palkia would lose out eventually, no matter how hard he fought. And yet it continued. Till Palkia was forced to use a huge chunk of matter to fuel its fight against Dialgia, causing a dimensional rift, momentarily fusing space, time, and antimatter together, creating a substance that greatly reduces my power in the distorted dimension."_ thought Giratina, fuming.

"_Dialgia be damned."_ thought Giratina again, zooming at hyper-speed towards the portal, eager to carry out the next move.

XxXxXxX

The trio navigated their way through the complicated web of underground tunnels carefully. Finally after a few minutes of confusion, they collapsed onto their beds. Dawn checked her poketch. There were three bathrooms. Two on the left-hand side and one on right-hand side. She smelled herself. Worse than a Muk in summer. She immediately fetched her towel and a few clean clothes.

"I am going to take a bath. You two should too. Especially you, Ash, you smell," said Dawn.

"I do?" He took a whiff of himself and almost fainted.

"Yeah, there are enough bathrooms for us and we can plan what we want to do after this."

"Come on, Pikachu. Wanna find a trainer to challenge?" said Ash to his yellow companion on his shoulder.

"Pika Pi!" replied Pikachu enthusiastically.

A few minutes later, each of them were feeling fresh and energetic.

"Anything on the map that has the word 'battle'?" asked Ash.

"Only one. The 'Battle Room'. Sheesh, Ash, seriously, you just got in here, and you're pining for a challenge already?" said Dawn.

"You would too if there's a contest around."

Dawn stuck out her tongue at him.

Brock smiled. Two teenagers terribly obsessed with battles and contests. They make a lovely pair.

"Come on, let's go already," said Brock before another mindless and childish squabble could start.

"Alright! That's the spirit! You're getting into the battle mood!" said Ash.

"Come on then, we don't have any time to waste!"

XxXxXxX

Somewhere else...

Commander Salium shifted uncomfortably in his seat. His instinct was screaming at him. He had a feeling that this mission would not succeed. His instinct hadn't failed him yet.

"Take the least number of men on this mission, remember to keep to the shadows and remain silent, and hurt no one, OK? Good luck, Lieutenant," said Commander Salium.

"Yes, sir." The young lieutenant understood. It was going to be a stealth mission and the commander preferred that none of his men got hurt tonight.

A/N: All right. What do you think? Bad? Good? Or plain horrific? Review please.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 6 Carla**

A/N: Conspiracies, confusion, and lies. What would we be without the Suicidal Trinity?

Disclaimer: All characters, including the OCs, belong to their rightful owners.

Somewhere in a secluded mountainous area,

A man in a brown safety suit whipped out a cell phone from his side pocket. He dialed the seven secured private numbers 75643 and pressed the green button. Then, he waited.

Hundreds of miles away on a huge ship, a phone vibrated silently. Another man picked it up.

"Yes, commander?" said the second man gruffly, only one person could have dialed this number--Commander Dreffag.

"Director, we found the shrine. It's at the center of Mount Tridruik," said Commander Dreffag.

"What?" said the director.

"We found the shrine. It's at the center of Mount. Tridruik," repeated the commander.

"For real?"

"Yes," said Dreffag impatiently.

"Has your team reached it?"

"Yes."

"Alright, commander. You are to secure the perimeter around it and make sure no one, and I repeat, no one is to go in until I arrive. Is that clear, commander?"

"Yes, sir," said the commander dully.

Without warning, the director shut the phone. Commander Dreffag clenched his teeth.

Patience, Frag, patience, thought Dreffag, a few more minutes and the whole Team Galaxy will be _mine_! He walked into the tunnel leading to the shrine.

XxXxXxX

Ash, Dawn, and Brock walked to the "Battle Room" indicated on Dawn's Poketch.

Ash noticed the walls all had stripes of shimmering crystals on the walls, giving off fluorescent light. Must be the crystal receptors, thought Ash.

A few minutes later, they reached a huge semicircular door. They walked inside to find many young trainers chatting and resting. They walked to the reception counter.

"Hello, I'm Mara and I am your assistant today. How may I help you?" asked the woman at the counter.

"Can you please explain the Battle Room to us?" asked Dawn.

"Dawn, It's the _Battle_ Room. It's a place for us to _battle_," said Ash.

"What about the types of battling, like do they allow tag battles or single battles?"

"Oh."

"Continue please," She turned back to the woman.

"Sure. The Battle Room is a place for young trainers across the city to pit their pokemon against each other. There are two choices, single battle and tag battle. The trainers are matched together randomly. You may only bring three pokemon into single battles and tag battles. Do you need anymore help?"

"Yeah. Where do you sign up?" asked Ash. Idiot, thought Dawn, we are at the _reception _counter.

XxXxXxX

Mara led the trio through the door behind the counter. Behind the door was an enormous dome-shaped room where hundreds of trainers were battling each other. Ash, Dawn, and Brock looked on in wonder.

Mara beckoned them to continue following her. She brought the gang into another room where many people waited patiently while sitting on metal seats.

"Please wait in this room while the computer matches you up. The next match-up is exactly three minutes from now. Have a nice day." And having said that, she walked away.

"Three minutes to my first battle here! Oh yeah!" said Ash.

"It's just like a contest, isn't it? The waiting, the appealing, and the battling," Dawn sighed happily.

"Yeah, I wonder what Pokemon they use here? Hoenn or Kanto or Johto?" mused Brock.

"Oh come on, no matter which Pokemon do they use, Pikachu and I will still work hard to win. Right, Pikachu?"

"Pika!!" replied the enthusiastic electric mouse. Brock smiled.

Moments later, Ash was paired up with a red-headed girl, Dawn with a raven-haired boy, while Brock was thankfully paired up with another man, or they would have had to endure the embarrassing words Brock would have said towards the woman.

XxXxXxX

"Go, Onix!" said the redhead as she threw a Pokeball upwards. An Onix came out.

'Onix, eh?' thought Ash.

"Go, Torterra!" Ash also threw a Pokeball skywards.

The girl watched in amazement as Torterra came out. It was obvious that she had not seen the continent Pokemon before. She took out her Pokedex but it showed nothing about Torterra. Frowning, she asked Onix to use Slam on Torterra.

"Torterra, dodge and use Leech Seed!" commanded Ash. Seeded sprouted from Torterra's back and landed on Onix. Onix started to thrash around wildly as Leech Seed took effect.

"Onix! Use Body Slam!" Onix hurled itself at Torterra.

"Torterra, Leaf Storm!" Leaves began to swirl around Torterra. Seconds later Onix was thrown aside by the Leaf Storm.

Leech Seed took effect again and Onix thrashed around the field.

"Torterra, finish it with Energy Ball!" The tree on Torterra's back glowed green and a ball of energy formed in Torterra's mouth. It struck Onix. Onix was knocked over. It fainted.

"Onix is unable to battle! Ash wins!"

The redhead immediately returned Onix back to its Pokeball for a good rest and sent out an Exploud. The Exploud roared loudly.

"Torterra, use Leech Seed again!"

"Supersonic, Exploud!" A wave of bizarre sounds filled the field. Torterra became confused and started to sway around dizzily. It shot the seeds towards the ground instead.

"Hyper beam, let's go!" Exploud shot a jet of pure energy towards Torterra. Torterra, being confused, did not dodge. It was a direct hit. Torterra fainted.

"Torterra is unable to battle. Carla wins!" shouted the judge.

"You've done great, Torterra. Now, rest." Torterra was returned back to its Pokeball.

That's one strong Pokemon, thought Ash.

"Go! Infernape!"

The girl frowned again.

"Infernape, use Focus Blast!" A blast of energy forced its way to Exploud. Exploud still stood there, immobilized. It was knocked backwards.

"Use Brick Break!" Infernape rushed forwards with its hand glowing and hit Exploud on its head. Exploud did not have a chance. It subsequently fainted.

"Exploud is unable to battle! Ash wins!"

"Go! Misdreavus!" The screech Pokemon came out.

"Infernape! Use Flare Blitz!" The raging fire hit Misdreavus. Carla smiled.

"Misdreavus! Use Pain Split and Perish Song!" Misdreavus leveled its health with Infernape before a horrible and high-pitched song filled the field.

"Oh no! It's the Perish Song! Infernape will faint after three turns!" Ash muttered to himself, "I have to finish this off quickly."

"Shadow Claw, Infernape!" Infernape's hands began to glow as it rushed through the field.

"Psybeam!"

"Dodge!"

Infernape's hand hit clawed Misdreavus's transparent body.

"Finish it with Flame Blitz!" Misdreavus fainted as it took the attack.

"Misdreavus is unable to battle! Carla does not have anymore usable pokemon! Ash is the winner of this battle!" announced the judge.

Ash did a victory jig with Infernape. Carla walked forward to Ash.

"Great battle, Ash! May I ask where do your Pokemon come from?"

"The Sinnoh region, outside Hoenn."

She frowned a little. "I do believe my father told me about it, once,"

"Who's your father?"

"Jarlo."

"You're Jarlo's daughter? Nice to meet you." She smiled. "What about I introduce you to my other friends?" said Ash.

"Uh, okay, I think."

"Come on, then." They both walked to the reception counter where Dawn and Brock were waiting for him.

A/N: What shall happen next? Remember, conspiracies, confusion, and lies. The Unholy Trinity. Review!


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 7 All Together Now**

A/N: _Italics- pokemon language._

In case you are wondering, here is the Unholy trinity for the story till now:

Conspiracies: Commander Dreffag wants to control the Team galaxy?

Confusion: If Commander Salium is the leader of Team Elphar, and Commander Dreffag and him answer to the director, how many teams are there?

Lies: Two words—Commander Dreffag.

Disclaimer: I solemnly swear that I did not model my story after "Arceus: Overcome Time and Space". The plot was made before this pokemon movie even existed. All characters are belonged to their rightful owners.

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Somewhere in the time dimension…

Dialgia was very worried. Its egg has been stolen and it had been Giratina who stole it. Its Unown had told it everything, from how Giratina teleported himself here to the fall of the protective barriers around the egg. Dialgia roared loudly. It could be heard throughout the time dimension.

"_Why, brother_?" It said.

XxXxXxX

Hoenn desert, Hoenn.

Jarlo sat perched atop the tower, absently stroking his Flygon. He opened the Book and searched for a blank page. When he found it, he took out a pen made of Flygon's teeth and wrote:

Tonight?

The words sank into the page and out came one word:

Yes.

XxXxXxX

Same place as before.

The majestic Team Elphar airship reached its destination. Everybody waited for further instructions from their leader, Commander Salium.

"Scatter the crystal receptors, Asly. I want maximum coverage," said Commander Salium.

The technicians in the control booth obliged and calculated the maximum coverage the crystal receptors could reach. Asly then pressed a button.

Below the hull of the airship, a metal window opened and three small cannons came out of it. It spat out the crystal receptors simultaneously in an orderly manner. Before long, that particular part of the desert was covered with crystal receptors.

"Alpha team ready?"

"Yes, sir," replied Asly.

"Deport."

"Yes, sir,"

A team of black-clad uniformed men began their descent from the ship to the desert below in a smaller aircraft.

XxXxXxX

Inside Mount. Tridruik…

Commander Dreffag walked briskly and silently to the inner shrine. It took him four minutes to reach it. The inner shrine was a majestic building; it was made by a combination of diamonds, onyx, and pearls. The whole building shone when the torchlight is pointed at it.

The commander went inside it and saw a statue of Dialgia, Palkia, and Giratina facing a statue of an unknown pokemon in the center while being arranged in cyclic order.

"The Great One…" he muttered to himself.

As he moved to touch the statue, his walkie-talkie crackled to life. Disgruntled, he held it to his face.

"What is it?"

"Red alert has come," came the reply.

"I'll be right there,"

As he took out his Gallade for teleportation, he thought, 'Ah, the reckoning.'

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A/N: Short, I know. However, I'm planning to answer some mysteries surrounding our main characters in the next chapter. Review or P.M. me on what do you think is needed to be answered, OK?


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 8 Cyrus**

A/N: Thanks for Raichu and Froggiecool, my two beta readers. Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Even though there are many similarities between the 11th pokemon movie and this fanfiction, the plot or otherwise fanfiction is not copied from the movie. All characters and locations belong to their rightful owners.

Ash and his newly met friend, Carla, walked from the battle field to the front reception counter where Dawn and Brock were standing. Brock was trying to flirt with a medium-aged woman without interference from Toxicroak. Minutes later, Toxicroak was dragging a paralyzed Brock across floor to the outside tunnel corridor. Ash and Carla watched on.

"Who was that?"

"Eh, one of my friends, actually. His name is Brock." Ash rubbed his neck shyly.

"Oh. Is he okay?"

"As long as Toxicroak is with him, he's fine." Ash waved his hand at Dawn.

Dawn watched the newcomer with much curiosity. "Who's that girl beside Ash?" she thought.

"Hey, Dawn! This is Carla, Jarlo's daughter," said Ash.

"Oh, that's who," she thought.

"Hi, nice to meet you," Dawn put her right hand out to shake her hand. Carla took it.

"Good to meet you too."

"Hello. Who's that?" Brock came limping to the group.

"Carla. Jarlo's daughter," said Ash.

"Hi!" said Brock.

Suddenly, a humming sound came out from Carla's belt pocket. She took the vibrating object out. It was a Hoenn Devon Pokenavigator. Ash saw one of these used by Max, his friend's brother, three years ago when he was completing his Kanto Battle Frontier Symbol quest.

She raised the cover and put it to her ear. Then, she apologized to them and said that she needed to get going. She did not say the reason. But what was sure was the frightened look on her face as she walked briskly out of the Battle Room.

"What's with her?" asked Ash.

"Yeah, remember Jarlo? He also acted like that before," said Dawn.

"Well, it _is_ their private business so we can't get involved in it. Come on, let's get some sleep already," said Brock.

Little did they did they know how much involved they would be in their "private" business.

XxXxXxX

Jarlo was still sitting on top of the tower. He had a brown bag beside him. He took out his Alakazam.

"Can you sense anything?" queried Jarlo.

Alakazam grunted a negative.

"Try harder, please."

Alakazam raised his spoons and tried sensing Aura energy again. At first, it picked up nothing. However, as Alakazam rotated its body slowly to the right, the spoons began to vibrate. Gradually at first, but it slowly gained power and Alakazam barely held on to it. It turned its massive head towards it trainer.

"Holy Flygon! Wait while I take out the ViewCam and headset." He stuck his hand into the bag and pulled out a black crystal ring and a pair of orange spectacles.

He attached the ring atop Alakazam's head and placed the spectacles on his eyes. He saw a huge aircraft hovering in the sky at about three kilometers away. Below it, a small aircraft manned by about five black-clad people was speeding their way towards the tower. Jarlo jumped to his feet and immediately threw the ViewCam and the black metal ring back to the bag. He asked Alakazam to teleport him back to the apartment. In his mind, he only thought of one thing—Get to the Ones. Now.

XxXxXxX

The Tridruik shrine, Mountain Tridruik...

Commander Dreffag was escorting the Director to the shrine. His mind flashed back to the conversation earlier. It was not really a conversation really. More like sarcastic talking.

Galaxian came down from his aircraft flanked by eight bodyguards. Which were all Commander Dreffag's men.

"Ah, the director! Galaxian, nice to see you," said Dreffag, though the commander's heart was full of distaste.

"The shrine," said Galaxian. It was a statement.

"Eager, aren't we?"

Galaxian said three words. "The shrine. Now."

Commander Dreffag sighed dramatically. He knew that he himself (Dreffag) was indispensable to the whole team Galaxy. That's why he could afford to play with the director. But he could not arouse any suspicions. Yet.

"This way, sir."

"Good." They walked silently into the tunnel leading to the shrine.

Galaxian stood in a moment of wonder and utter amazement at the beauty of the shrine. Commander Dreffag would have too, if not his eagerness to control Team Galaxy. He casually pressed the button on shirt. Outside, every team member of Team Bretta received an encrypted voice message. It was read out slowly and clearly in their earphones.

"Now."

Instantly, every Bretta member took out their Pokemon and ordered them to knock out the members of Team Galaxy. A electronic jammer was also set up to prevent communications from the inside to the outside.

In the shrine, Galaxian was pinned down by his "bodyguards". He looked at Commander Dreffag with utter bewilderment.

"What is this? Treachery?" said Galaxian, as he struggled.

"No, just taking the liberty of controlling Team Galaxy," said Dreffag. "And please, Galaxian, call me by my name--Cyrus."

XxXxXxX

Barely twenty minutes after they slept, Ash, Dawn, and Brock were shaken awake by someone. Well, actually, Ash was awoken by a strong Thundershock by Pikachu.

"What did you do that for?" asked Ash, who was trying to sleep after the battle with Carla.

"I asked it to wake you up. Apparently that was the fastest way to wake you," said Jarlo.

"Oh, hi Jarlo. I didn't see you there." Jarlo dismissed it with a wave of a hand.

"Why are we awake?" asked Dawn, rubbing her eyes.

"There's no time to explain." Jarlo was taking his Alakazam out.

"Quickly, hold hands or at least make physical contact with it!"

Ash felt a warm feeling as he held Dawn's petite hand.

"Alakazam, teleport!"

They escaped just in time before the Team Elphar's stealth team cut down the door. Silently, the team leader cursed under his breath.

"They must have teleported away," said the team leader as he gritted his teeth.

"Affirmative, sir. Sensors sensed psychic power used here a second ago. They seemed to have teleported to the desert, sir," said a grunt.

"To the desert. Quickly."

XxXxXxX

A woman took out a secure communication device. She thought of the call she made just now.

"Hello? I want to talk to Galaxian."

"What? Who's Galaxian?" came the reply.

"Your director."

"Our director is Dreffag. Wait a minute, who are you?" but the caller had hung up.

The woman's heart was beating wildly, her worst fears had been realized. She has had a nightmare last night. And it was horrible, a sign of a terrible future. Galaxian has been overpowered.

Now, she had only one hope – Commander Salium.

A/N: CLIFFHANGER!! TURNING POINTS!! What's next? Review, please!


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 9 Shock **

A/N: Sorry for slow update, I'm quite busy with school. I thank Raichu, May and Dawn are the best, Queenofinsanity and Froggiecool, my beta readers for their help. Thank you, girls and guys!

Disclaimer: All characters, places, plots, etc belong to their rightful owners.

Cyrus woke up with a smile plastered on his face and stretched his limbs contently. He slowly rose from his new bed in the director's suite. He went to the minibar and got himself a cup of freshly brewed coffee. As he sipped it, he took a chance to look around himself. The director's suite was huge and spacious. It was at least five meters wide from where he was standing and housed a king-sized bed, an oak writing table, a minibar, three lamps and a plaque which wrote the Team Galaxy motto, "Power is absolute". Indeed, thought Cyrus, indeed.

He pressed the intercom panel on the right-side of the wooden table and said, "Report Galaxian's status." He was eager to know their progresses on making Galaxian talk.

"Sorry, commander, but he ain't openin' his mouth." Cyrus cringed a little at the use of informal English.

"Did you try torturing him?" asked Cyrus,

"Yes, but we can't seem to get near him sir—"

"Are you all cowards?"

"N-no, sir, it's just that whenever we go near him there's a force field that pushes us back!"

"Are you sure?"

"Y-yes, sir."

"I will be there shortly, you are dismissed."

Cyrus sat down on his wooden chair. He covered his face with his hands for a while before walking briskly to Galaxian's room. His mind thought of many things, one of them was, 'Soon, Galaxian, soon.'

XxXxXxX

Ash, Dawn, Brock and Jarlo were teleported by Alakazam outside to the Hoenn desert. The last thing they saw before departing was the door of the room being brought down by black-clad men. They could not see the tower anywhere even though that it was a clear night. Ash judged that they were far from the underground city. Jarlo was walking around, seeming searching for something.

"Find a quicksand hole! And find it fast!" said Jarlo. Every body turned their head towards him, with equal puzzled looks on their faces.

"Sorry, I think I didn't hear you properly, I thought you asked to find a quicksand hole." Said Ash.

"Yes, I am. I will explain later! Find the hole quickly!" Jarlo seemed anxious.

No stranger to alien requests, the trio searched the surrounding area.

"First the water race festival in Altomare, then the Millennium festival in the valley, then the Orudoran tournament in Orudoran. Next time we are not going to any more festivals." Ash muttered to no one in particular. Dawn smiled.

XxXxXxX

"Commander, there's a secured phone call from an unknown person for you," said Asly, the technician.

"Put it through then," said Commander Salium, not knowing who wanted to call him at such a late time.

The computer screen buzzed for a while before it focused. It showed a woman wearing a cloak with a shawl over her head.

"Ellen! Galaxian has been overthrown!" The woman practically yelled at him. It took a few seconds to get the message into his brain.

"What? Say it again?"

"Galaxian has been overthrown by Dreffag!" The woman's tone was anxious.

"What? Galaxian overthrown? By Dreffag?" Salium wasn't sure if he heard right.

Dreffag was the most loyal member of Team Galaxy. Dreffag's team was the most powerful strike force Galaxian had. But then again, the man was very cunning.

"Yes! Yes! You fool! I called Galaxian but Dreffag's men answered it!"

"Who are you and how did get this number? How can I trust you without proof?"

"Arghh, fine. Recognition code: 'I am your motherly code inform.'"

"What?! You are the informant Galaxian talked about?"

"Yes! Galaxian has been overthrown!" The woman's tone turned from anxious to a little annoyed.

"Say the code to your computer microphone," she said.

"What?" But the woman had hung up.

Commander Salium blinked. My worst fears were true, thought Salium.

"Say the code to your microphone? What in the blazes is the code?" he said.

He did not manage to finish his sentence. At the sound of 'microphone', the computer on the commander platform beeped and flashed a message ---- "Commander Booth Lockdown Initiated. Please remain calm and immobile." The commander stared at it. Metal panes began to slide down from the ceiling. Sounds of locks clicking together themselves could be heard. The last thing the technicians and controllers saw was the commander's shocked face.

Salium felt like Tailow in a metal cage with no windows. The insides of the metal panes formed a huge LCD screen. It flickered on. Galaxian's grim face filled the booth.

"If you are seeing this, it means that my informant has done well and I have been overthrown by a certain unloyal member of Team Galaxy, presumably a commander. This video is directed to Commander Salium. Ellen Salium, you are to abort all missions and type in the coordinates as shown on your computer screen. Go into the safehouse there and make sure everyone is safe. That's an direct order, commander." Galaxian said.

After that, the metal panes slid apart. Commander Salium military mind acted quickly. He called back the stealth team and prepared his ship for departure. His mind did not think of anything else other than to follow orders. He was shocked enough for the day.

XxXxXxX

Ash could hear the sound of sand being turned over by wind from a vehicle. Jarlo's Alakazam looked ready to fight. However, it suddenly stopped halfway and seemed to go away from them. Just then, Dawn let out a yelp. Her body was stuck in the sand. Everyone ran to her. Jarlo jumped into the quicksand. Ash and Brock, on the other hand, looked incredulous.

"Jump in! This is the quicksand hole I told you about!" said Jarlo.

"Are you mad?" asked Ash.

"No." He said simply.

Not knowing what else to do, they jumped in. Jarlo muttered, "Aareabfaebulade" and it all went black.

XxXxXxX

Cyrus reached the outside of the room. Straightening his shirt, he walked into the room. Galaxian was chained to a chair bound to the ground with metal chains. The ex-director looked serene, tranquil, not caring about what had happened at all. Cyrus walked forward. However, when he got within one meter of Galaxian, he was thrown back violently. Galaxian smiled. So, its true, thought Cyrus. He stood up and sat on a chair.

"So, Galaxian, are you going to talk today?" said Cyrus.

"No." answered Galaxian.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Cyrus took out a necklace from his breast pocket. For the first time in so many days, Galaxian's eyes shone fear. He started to fidget in his chains.

"I see you know what this is, eh?"

A/N: Make your opinion known. Review.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 10 Champion On A Mission**

A/N: This time there's a new character—why would I tell you? Read on to find out. I thank May and Dawn are the best, and Mel72000 for their reviews. Thanks!

Disclaimer: All characters, plots, etc belong to their respective owners.

Somewhere in the Arctic Circle…

A lone figure wearing a huge traveler bag in extremely thick clothing walked slowly across the Arctic plain of ice. Strong winds howled around her. Her hands were holding two one-meter long metal bars that were used to provide support while walking. She wore a ski mask to cover her head while her eyes were covered by a pair of orange spectacles.

Cynthia, the Sinnoh champion, was questioning herself on the purpose of braving icy winds and freezing temperature just to complete a mission.

"Why am I doing this again?" she thought.

"Because I'm a very curious person and I like adventures?" said her brain.

"Hmmm..."

"And because if you don't do this, the whole universe will crumble away and become corrupted, eveyone would die and you won't be able to eat more of that delicious double chocolate peppermint ice-cream."

"That's a good enough reason for me." Cynthia smiled.

Just then, the screen on her ViewCam flashed a warning sign and three lines of text appeared on the screen:

Warning! Incoming Blizzard.

Wind speed: 80 km/h

ETA: 20 minutes and 23 seconds

The ETA second indicator was still blinking. 23...22...21...20…

Cynthia sighed and looked around to search for shelter. The wide plain of ice had not even a single ice ridge in sight. The winds around her were starting to pick up speed. She would have to act fast. If she died here, she might only be found by someone after this polar cap melted away completely. Besides that, this was an ultra secret mission that only a handful of people know about.

She put down her huge bag and dipped a gloved hand into it. She pulled out a Ezytent. It was made of five aluminum bars that could be extended to form a simple yet sturdy tent frame. She opened the closed bars. It looked like two 'Y's joined at the end. She placed it on the thick ice and pressed a button. There was a slight 'pop' at four shaped charges drove the thin mallets into the ice. The whole thing extended and it turned into a small-sized tent for one-person. Cynthia fixed a piece of rough canvas over it carefully. She made sure that there were no problems with it before going into the tent.

Cynthia sat down cross-legged in the tent. Her stomach growled loudly. She dove her hand into the bag to find something to eat. However, her fingers brushed something hard. Frowning slightly, she prized it out. It was a small silver-coloured locket that her ex-boyfriend gave to her during her 18th birthday. Different emotions welled up in her heart. Tears began to fall. Her goggles began to mist up. She opened the cover.

The locket was actually a holographic device which could be used to play 30-second 3D videos. The one she was holding was playing an old video which showed Cynthia sitting on a bench with another spiky-blue-haired teenage boy. They looked at each other for a while before kissing each other passionately. It was too much for her. She quickly closed the lid. Seeing this 3D video of her ex-boyfriend was too much to bear. She took out her goggles briefly to wipe her tears away. The wind outside was howling loudly, mocking her.

She tried to banish all thoughts about him from her mind while she searched for something to eat. That night, after eating two pieces of biscuits, she slept with one person in mind—Cyrus.

XxXxXxX

Ash's eyes opened wide. He looked around and below him. He was in a dark room. Someone was struggling and squirming under him.

"ASH KETCHUM, GET YOUR BIG BUTT OUT OF MY BODY NOW!" Dawn's voice rang through his ears. He quickly rolled over to his right side before being pushed violently by a very angry Dawn. She stood up. Even in the darkness, he could see her blood-red face. Pulses of anger emanated from her. Ash backed away before she attacked him.

"Ow! Watch your step, whoever that is!" said someone. It sounded like Brock.

"Brock, it's me, Ash," said Ash.

"Oh. Anyone seen Jarlo?" asked Brock.

Dawn was just about to answer "no" when the lights went on. Everyone staggered. Ash quickly shut his eyes and fell down in a sitting position.

"Close your eyes for a while for it to recover even more quickly," said Jarlo.

Everyone closed their eyes for a few seconds. It worked. Ash found himself staring at a small room with a metal door at his right side. Jarlo pulled him up. They all walked to the metal door.

"Sorry for the shock, but it's important that we get here immediately," said Jarlo.

"What is this place?" asked Dawn.

"A secure safehouse, where an expert might be able to explain most of the strange things you have encountered on journey here."

"Okay," said Dawn. Jarlo put his hands on the metal door and heaved. Ash and Brock quickly went forward to help.

They opened the door into another room. It was a blend of ancient and futuristic architecture. The walls and ceiling were made out shining crystals, while in the center of the room was a huge, old, stone table filled with laptop computers and delicate electronic equipments. Ash saw a flash of red hair from the other side of the table. Just as he started to move to see who or what is it, Jarlo called out, "Carla! Are you there?"

Carla stood up frowning for a while before smiling when she saw Ash and his friends. They smiled back.

"I see you have already met each other. Strange that you didn't tell me about it, Carla."

"Yi saw yusub!" exclaimed Carla. Neither Ash nor Dawn nor Brock knew what it meant.

"English, Carla, we have guests."

"Onre, yi tondo erack." Carla put her hands on her hips. Jarlo sighed.

"Just like your mother, stubborn. Where's Bryan?" asked Jarlo.

"Ni eht suksid moor." Having said that, she went back to her work. She completely ignored them after this.

"Come on, to the discussion room, said Jarlo, sounding defeated. Ash, Dawn, and Brock followed, thousands of questions forming in their brains.

XxXxXxX

Cyrus walked happily back to his suite. So far so good, the mind-control necklace, one of Galaxian's inventions, worked extremely well and he got all the information he wanted from Galaxian. He sat in front of the computer on the wooden table and took out a mini recorder from his trouser pocket. He played the recording while typing everything into the computer. He organized every bit of data and saved it into a thumb drive. He also printed everything out. He read his notes.

"Hmm, Galaxian as an Aura channeller. Who would have thought of that?" thought Jarlo.

"Yes, so don't dispose of him yet. He might prove useful to us," said another voice in his mind.

"Yes, indeed. Now all we need is to get rid of Commander Ellen Salium,"

"This could be either extremely easy or extremely hard,"

"Yeah," thought Cyrus as he fingered the locket on his neck.

"Cynthia… Why did you leave me?" thought Cyrus sadly before standing up to go to the commander's booth.

A/N: Yes, it is Cynthia, the Sinnoh Champion!

Make your opinion known, review.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 11 **

A/N: I didn't expect the plot for this chapter came to me this quickly.

I rather people enjoy the story than wasting time reading this A/N, so on with the story.

Disclaimer: All characters, plots, etc belong to their rightful owners.

Commander Ellen Salium's airship was speeding towards the Sootopolis Ocean, locked on its coordinates. Everyone on the ship was on high alert, prepared to intercept anyone who came their way.

Suddenly, the computer on the commanders booth beeped. Everyone jumped. It was a message, from Cyrus. Trying to prevent himself from shaking in fear, Ellen pressed the touch screen to open the new window. Commander, no, Director Dreffag's face filled the screen. His voice was cold, like ice, as usual.

"Commander Salium, where are you going now?" asked Cyrus.

"To finish my next errand, given by the Director," he lied. Ellen was careful not to betray the fact that he knew the change of Directors. He was also thankful for the training at lying he had while he was a child, especially to his younger sister.

"There has been a change of control, I am the Director now. Galaxian transferred his full power to me. You are to change course and return to base. Do I make myself clear?" said Cyrus matter-of-factly.

"What?! Y-you are the new Director? But that is--" Ellen tried to sound surprised.

"...impossible. Yes, but I hope that you would respect the Director's decision," finished Cyrus.

I know damn well who do I respect, you traitor, thought Ellen.

"Yes, sir," said Ellen, sounding skeptical.

"My computer here shows that you are headed towards Sootopolis City."

Ellen started. He had forgotten about the automatic tracker that had been installed in his ship. Cyrus would know where they had gone if the tracker was not disabled. If only I could tell Asly to reprogram the tracker, thought Ellen silently. Suddenly, Asly's hand flew across the computer keyboard. Asly's computer flashed a message—Tracker reprogrammed. He felt thankful yet puzzled. When did Asly knew how to read minds?

"Commander?"

"Yes? Sir?"

"Come to base immediately," Cyrus repeated.

"Yes, sir."

The windows screen closed. Ellen watched his computer monitor. They were seemingly heading towards Sinnoh. However, the other screen monitor that displayed the results of the Team Elphar secure private satellite showed that the ship was still staying on course. He breathed a sigh of relief. Next, he called out to Asly.

"Asly?" asked the commander.

"Yes? Sir?" said Asly.

"How did you know that I wanted you to reprogram the GPS monitor?"

"Your voice came to my mind, sir," said Asly truthfully.

"Hmmm, strange, could I really be…" wondered Ellen.

Meanwhile, at the Team Galaxy team base…

Cyrus was suspicious about Commander Salium. Granted, his childhood friend seemed to be lying about their motives. He watched the GPS monitor on Team Elphar's Mothership again. They were flying towards the Sinnoh Region now. However, it did not calm his beating heart. He pressed the intercom in his room.

"Grunt?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Dispatch two small air frigates to locate Team Elphar's Mothership."

"Yes, sir."

The Team Galaxy Director released the intercom button.

"Sooner or later we'll know where you're really are, Sally Ellen," thought Cyrus.

"Solaris, we need to talk," said another voice in his mind.

"Yes? What is it?"

"About emotions. I trust you knowing that emotions are useless things, created by the Foolish One for no apparent reason, except to foil the plans in creating a perfect world."

"I really don't know where you are going with this."

"Oh? Love is also a kind of emotion, a very useless emotion."

"I knew that."

"Of course you knew, then why, of all things are you still thinking about that blonde-haired woman?"

"It's…complicated."

"No, my Dark knight, it's not. Rid yourself of these emotions. Don't immerse yourself in it.'

"Yes."

"Good. Now we have a few Ones to dispose of."

XxXxXxX

Hoenn desert underground, Hoenn.

"Has she always been like that, Jarlo?" said Dawn, as they walked behind him through the tunnel to the other room.

"No, she was actually very cheerful. But she turned moody after her mother left," Jarlo seemed at the brink of tears. Dawn stopped asking.

"Here we are," said Jarlo. He pushed open another door.

They saw a person in the discussion room. The person was a male, looking in his late teens. He had a head of sleek black hair and blue eyes. He was also holding a small device in his right hand.

"Ah, hello! So, Jarlo, are these young people the Ones?" his tone was cheery.

"Yes, Bryan."

"Anyway to prove it?"

"These two teens," Jarlo jerked his thumb at Ash and Dawn, "heard the Lyrical Desert Song."

"Hmm, could you repeat it for me?" said Bryan to Ash.

Ash wanted to say he had forgotten about the lyrics of the song, but when he opened his mouth to speak, the song came out instead.

"The ones have come. Let us rejoice. For the land will be rid of insanity from greed and power," said Ash. He looked surprised.

"Good enough. Jarlo, why are they looking like disheveled bean sprouts that did get enough sleep, eh?" It's true. Ash, Dawn and Brock were starting to feel tired. The adrenaline from the excitement just now was starting to wear off.

"Well, those goons were after them again."

"Well then, they should get plenty of rest before we explain the whole thing to them, Jarlo. I want them to be at their top best performance by tomorrow."

"Alright, then."

"Oh, Jarlo, the icicle shard, meeting, now."

Jarlo called out for Carla to bring Ash, Dawn, and Brock to their rooms.

"Follow me," said Carla, as she walked in front of them. Ash and co. simply followed behind, grateful for some rest.

The next day…

"ASH! Wake up already!" yelled Dawn.

Seriously, that girl has mental issues, thought Ash, as he rolled to the other side.

"I do not have mental issues! Now get up!" shouted Dawn.

Dammit, Can't I get a decent sleep without someone screaming at me? thought Ash again.

"NO!" screeched Dawn.

Ash jumped awake as he realized something.

"Dawn, when can you read my thoughts?" said Ash.

"So now you—What? Me? Read your thoughts? Impossible! I'm not a psychic!" Dawn rolled her eyes.

"No, no, you really did read my thoughts. I thought that you were mental and that I prefer sleeping without someone shouting at me,"

"Really? Then…" Dawn did not manage to complete her sentence as Carla rushed in to inform them that breakfast was ready.

"Ooh, breakfast!" Ash changed his clothes, brushed his teeth, and rushed to the dining table outside faster than a Linoone speeding on a straight path. He seemed to have forgotten about the conversation with Dawn a minute ago. Dawn and Brock, on the other hand, just walked to the place.

.By the time the two of them reached the place, Ash had already finished his share and was eyeing Dawn's share. The stone table yesterday was completely cleared of electronical appliances and in their place, a few plates of bread and curry. Dawn quickly finished it. Ash looked disappointed. Bryan came in to the room.

"Alright, if you please, all of you to the discussion room," Bryan said.

Everyone finished their breakfast and went to the other room. Jarlo was there, holding a huge tome. There was a metallic table in the center of the room that Ash, Dawn and Brock hadn't noticed yesterday. Somehow, Ash knew that it was going to be a long day.

XxXxXxX

Cynthia had been walking for two hours. The GPS monitor showed that she was only three meters from her destination. Suddenly, the ground beneath her began to shake. Cynthia acted instinctively. She took out her Garchomp, held on to it, and commanded it to fly high enough to escape the quake. They took off quickly. She escaped just in time to see a beam of white light shoot out of the ground. Garchomp circled around. The beam of light lasted eight full minutes. It abruptly stopped after that, leaving a black hole in the ground. It was big enough for a Wailord to enter.

Cynthia looked at her ViewCam. The monitor shows that the Ice Crown might be in there. No knowing what else to do, she and her Garchomp sped down the dark abyss.

A/N: Ice Crown, eh? Make your opinion known. Review.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 12**

A/N: New plot device…We're back to Galaxian.

Disclaimer: All characters, plots, etc belong to their rightful owners.

Galaxian sat cross legged on the cool metal floor of his cell. His arms were tied to his back. His eyes were closed and his chest rose and fell steadily, it seemed that he was meditating. In truth, it was more than that. He was replaying the events just now in his brain.

As Cyrus took out the necklace from his breast pocket, he stifled the urge to laugh. That necklace was powerful, but not powerful enough to break through the shields he had set up in his mind. However, Cyrus did not know that. Galaxian used this to his advantage. He lowered down his psychic shields and started to fidget, giving the look of an anxious man. Cyrus looked smug. He took out his Dusknoir that he got a day after he broke out of the high-security prison in Sinnoh underground and commanded it to use Hypnosis on Galaxian. The ex-director struggled for a while before finally succumbing to its power. His body went limp and he started snoring lightly.

Galaxian's physical body was asleep, but his mind was not. Instead, he used his Aura sensing powers to 'see' his surroundings. He 'saw' Cyrus walking confidently towards him. Cyrus came to his side and violently yanked his hair back to lift his head. He slid the necklace down it. Then, he took a chair nearby and sat down on it, crossing his legs together. Galaxian sensed Cyrus point a stiff finger at him. The next thing he knew, Dusknoir came speeding with a glowing fist towards him. He was shocked awake.

"Welcome back to the world of consciousness, Galaxian," said Cyrus, not sounding welcome at all.

"Yes, master." asked Galaxian, faking a monotone voice to duplicate the effects of mind control.

Cyrus smiled, showing a row of fanged teeth, like those of a Sharpedo's, and leant forwards, putting his ten delicate white fingers together. Fool, thought Galaxian as he laughed heartily in his mind.

"Now, Galaxian, tell me all about the Moment of Creation," said Cyrus.

At this part of the memory, Galaxian grinned, his yellowing white teeth reflecting the little light that the lone fluorescent light bulb at the ceiling could give. His majestic plan worked perfectly. Cyrus believed everything he had said. He even printed the whole thing out as reference.

"Now, Solaris…"

Ash, Dawn, Brock, Carla, Jarlo and Bryan gathered round the metal table. Bryan seemed unusually pale for someone who was supposed to be lively as they have seen yesterday. The huge tome has been put atop the table with combined efforts of Jarlo and Ash. Bryan pressed a panel on the table. A holographic image materialized from the center of the table. A news reporter and Officer Jenny appeared. Brock had to be restrained by both Ash and Dawn before he rams himself into the image. The image spoke.

"As you now can see," the news reporter stepped aside and tilted her body so that people could see behind her. It was a jail cell, with a single person in it. "This is the jail cell where the criminal mastermind Cyrus supposedly lived during his sentence of jail for twenty years. Officer Jenny, could you shed some light on this incident?"

Officer Jenny took the microphone. She looked awfully tired. Her eyes looked blood-shot and strained. She also had eye bags around her eyes. It was obvious that she had gone through a rough night.

"Well, Cyrus was captured at Mt. Coronet one years ago and that -now pointing at the 'person'- is his robotic substitute for his sentence. We didn't know that he had used a substitute to prevent capture. It was pure genius, for the robot was very real, close to a real human. It can even do radical thinking! However, the parts of the robot, without maintenance, rusted with time and we now know that Cyrus is still out there…"

At this, the holographic image stopped and closed itself. Everyone's face was white with fear. The infamous Cyrus was back on the track. Ash thought about the people who were chasing them yesterday. Were them Cyrus's men?

"Cyrus is back. And he's out to kill you. Especially you, Ash. For thwarting his plan to create a new world," said Bryan, his voice a little shaky.

"So, we shall need to complete the mission quick. Ash, Dawn, Brock, it's time you knew about the mysteries about this book," said Jarlo, his voice much calmer than Bryan's, patting the book in front of him.

Ash peered at the book. It was an ancient looking leather-bound book with yellowing pages peeking out of its cover. There were five letters on it, two of which are the same. Ash recognized it immediately. It was the Unown letters he had seen before. "Alias," muttered Ash under his breath.

"Yes, Ash, the name of this book is 'Alias'. As you can see, this book is written in the ancient Unown language. I believe that you all know a little about it?" he looked around. Everybody nodded. Dawn seemed a little unsure.

"Are the Unown shaped like alphabets with eyes?" asked Dawn.

"Yes." Dawn then smiled and nodded.

"Good. Now, this book given to me by Rayquaza sixteen years ago, exactly on the day when you, Ash Ketchum of Pallet town were born. I have spent years trying to decipher the old language in the book and found out it was a chronicle. A chronicle about important things in the world. It also makes pretty accurate predictions on things that happen in the future. I, being young and impatient, decided to flip to the last page and see what happens. Then only did I realize that the book has an ending. The WORLD has an ending. And when I translated the last page, I found out one horrible thing. Ash," Jarlo now turned to Ash, "I think you met a Jirachi before, right?"

Ash nodded. Jarlo must have gotten that information from the book. He looked anxiously towards Brock. He gritted his teeth.

"Oh Holy Flygon, this is horrible. Jirachi acts as a 'purifier' for the energy from the Millennium Comet. The crude and pure energy will be processed and purified during the opening of the eye. But when the energy became a corrupted Groudon, it became corrupted again. Without opening its eye and just simply returning it to Jirachi will cause the corrupted energy to spread across the world, and space-time during its 1000-year-old sleep.  
The battle between Dialgia and Palkia caused a space-time rift and when Palkia took a chunk out the corrupted space-time to 'heal' itself it brought the energy into space and time, together with the rift, causing the whole dimensional universe to go corrupted.

There's more, the 'black smoke', as described in the book, is the form that the corrupted energy takes in dimensions and it could disrupt energy transfer and cause living matter to undergo temporary mutation and become weak."

Ash jumped up. "So that's why Giratina almost lost to that Zero person!" he exclaimed.

"Zero…let's see… Hmm, he was someone who battled Giratina in the Distorted World." Said Jarlo as he took a bone-pen and wrote something on the first page of the book.

"Ash, Dawn, you together with Carla, Jarlo and me, are Aura Channellers or Auraers for short," said Bryan, now standing up. Everyone looked at him. His azure blue eyes shone with the flames of determination and his body literally had a pulsing Aura that was to be reckoned with. His fists were so tightly clenched that it turned chalk white.

"Now, Ash, Dawn, Brock, Carla, Jarlo, we are all gathered here to solve this problem of the corrupted worlds. As Jarlo and I believe, there's only one pokemon which could have the power to purify the worlds—Arceus." Ash, Dawn and Brock frowned at the name. It was evident that they did not hear the name before.

"Arceus, the Original One, the Center, or the native name here, Enotragethi, which literally means 'the Great One' or whatever name you call it is a pokemon which had created the universe and every last thing inside it, straight down to the nano-bit of sand. It used the power of the 18 shards that orbits to do that. However, after creating the Universe and placing legendaries to take care of it, it fell into deep slumber at an unknown place. We are to awake it from its slumber and once more purify this world by gathering the 18 shards."

"Wait, you mean that this kind of thing happened before?" asked Ash.

"Yes, and that's why we're doing it. It seems to be only way," answered Bryan.

"The 13 shards involved has been found and kept in a secure place. There's another plate, the Icicle plate, which was being explored by the Sinnoh Champion, Cynthia," Bryan continued. Ash, Dawn and Brock sat straighter at this.

"The Champion is currently now at the Artic, finding the fourteenth shard. The only shards left are the Draco plate, Zap plate, and Iron plate. The last plate is an unknown one, but the book can help us to find it."

"So, our mission is to find the plates and give it to you?" asked Dawn.

"You're half right. _Our_ mission is to find the plates, and resummon Arceus into this world."

"When do we start?" asked Ash eagerly.

"Now." Bryan looked dead serious.

A/N: Sorry for late update. I had to research a bit. I happen to put a little 'mistake' on the shard mystery. Anyone who could find it? Next, Cynthia and Cyrus.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 13 **

A/N: No comment. On with the story.

Cynthia let out a cry of pain as she and her Garchomp landed abruptly on a pile of soft snow. She rolled off her Garchomp while touching her head. She was a sure of a welt there. She opened her eyes carefully and looked around her. Apart from her Garchomp twitching and shaking uncontrollably beside her, she can't see anything because it was too dark. Not even moon light to illuminate her way. Her Garchomp! She almost forgot about her pokemon's vulnerability to coldness. She quickly returned it to the warmth of its pokeball. She took out a flare gun and shot it upwards. The flare flew up for a few seconds before exploding into red bits that fell around her, bathing the whole area in red light.

Cynthia seized the few second of illumination to scout her surroundings again. She found her self on a high place overlooking towers and obelisks around her. There seems to be a garden directly below. To her front was a huge palace of some sort. The whole place was made of a kind of reflective material, probably ice. She knelt down and swept away the snow around her. The ground below was smooth and cold, like cement floors. Cynthia could feel the coldness creeping up from her hand which was touching the ice below her. She quickly withdrew her hand.

Cynthia flickered the small pencil xenon light on her ViewCam on. The building reflected the light into beautiful multi-coloured pictures around her. She took in this amazing sight in a second. However, she reminded herself of her mission and called out her Togekiss. She asked it to use safeguard to protect itself from the cold and rode on it. They carefully navigated themselves to the garden. Upon alighting, she withdrew her Togekiss as it began to shiver from the frigid temperature. She put down her bag and pulled a flat communicator. She switched it on. After giving Bryan and Jarlo, the people who requested her for this mission, a brief report on her current status, she took out another cube-shaped machine. She slid the communicator back to the back pocket of her bag. The machine was activated. It uses the Zubat supersonic theory to accurately scan the surrounding area.

Cynthia watched as her ViewCam continuously revealed a scale-model palace. Cynthia watched as the machine showed moving objects. She frowned. Obviously, she came to the right place. There were still Pokemon guardians in this long abandoned place. She waited until the machine revealed an enormous chamber guarded by a dozen pointy legged and tri-fingered Pokemon and a single object. A flat object. A shard.

Cynthia left the machine where it was, in the garden, as she took her bag and began to walk her way through to the chamber. She set her ViewCam computer to calculate the safest and shortest route to the chamber. Her brow furrowed again as she saw the route. She needed to get through at least twenty pokemon guards, not to mention dozens of traps in between.

---

Cyrus checked his computer screen. The Team Galaxy mother ship was rushing to the Artic Circle at a speed of 250 kilometers per hour. They were going to reach the frigid seas of the North Pole in a few more minutes. Cyrus stretched in his seat. He thought of the frigates he had sent to find Team Elphar's ship. He pressed the contact button on the control panel in front of him.

"Captain green one. Status report," said Cyrus into the microphone.

"Report commander, we failed to locate the Elphar Mother ship. We tried everything we have on this ship, including radar, infrared and the newest supersonic equipment,"

said the captain carefully and slowly, knowing how the commander accepted failures.

"We'll talk about this later, come back here now," said Cyrus, in a deadly tone. The captain and his partner gulped audibly over the microphone.

Cyrus broke off the conversation. Ellen's ship was not following the route that was shown by the GPS tracker. This suggests that he hacked the tracker and planted a false lead. He focused himself to the mission on hand. He will deal with the traitor later.

---

Cynthia was panting. Her body was rushing with adrenalin. She just managed to get through a particularly dangerous trap which involved metal spikes and falling icicles. If not for her Magmortar and its Flamethrower that melted the spikes and icicles, she would be writhing on the floor with spikes and icicles piercing her body.

She checked her ViewCam. Two more traps and a dozen more Regice and Abomasnows to go. Cynthia smiled weakly at her Magmortar, though it was covered by her ski mask. Magmortar seemed to be able to sense Cynthia's feeling and started swinging its barrel-like arms, a sign that it was happy. Suddenly, Magmortar raised its arms towards the front, poised for attack. Cynthia's ViewCam warned that three Regice was coming their way.

Cynthia looked around. She saw an ice statue of a kneeling knight holding a sword in front of him. She turned off the pencil light. She hastily returned Magmortar to its pokeball and ran quickly, but silently, in the shadows, to the back of the statue. She preferred not to attack this time. Too many attacks will alert them of her presence and they will step up their defenses, making it almost impossible to get to the chamber.

The ice guardians hovered silently, through the corridor. Cynthia could feel the coldness even five meters away. There seems to be the slightest of hesitation when they reached the end of the corridor. Cynthia's heart was pounding against her ribcage. She feared the worst and her hand flew to her pokeballs. However, the Regice continued their patrol. Cynthia then quickly advanced through the corridor, relying on the computer to guide her way.

After a few minutes, the computer ceased giving updates to her computer. Cynthia was shocked. She tapped it, willing it to work. Alas, it was no use. It seems that the machine outside had stopped working. Cynthia frowned again. She seems to be frowning a lot lately. She would have to follow her heart to get to the chamber.

Cynthia closed her eyes. She felt her mind wander through the whole palace. She saw every detail, every pokemon that resided in this building, every wall, everything.

As she opened her eyes, her will burned with the flames of determination.

"I shall let the Aura guide me," thought Cynthia.

---

Cyrus and his team of Galaxy members came down to the frozen seas of the Artic Circle by a smaller aircraft from the mother ship. They landed quickly and departed in an orderly manner. They set up a mini base within a few minutes. Cyrus went inside to debrief his men. His men had lined up into two straight lines.

"Men, today, we shall be capturing the Sinnoh Champion, Cynthia, for our use," Cyrus said to the two lines of Team Galaxy members. A few people's eyes went wide at this, but they quickly returned to their composure.

"The champion must be captured alive. If I sense any hesitation, any doubt, then I shall personally hunt you down. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir!" barked the men.

"Good."

---

Cynthia wanted to hit herself for not thinking of this earlier. She had packed some repels into her bag. Why didn't she think of that before? The pokemon guards practically flee at the smell of the repel. Her way was clear. She met no one along her way.

She then came to a huge and delicate carved arc. There were many strange pictures on it. Cynthia reached out a hand to touch. However, her inner sense reminded her that there might be sensors on it. She continued walking. She came to a huge room. The chamber.

It was a magnificent room, with doors and arcs that lead to every where. There was a huge chandelier on the ceiling of the room. It shone brightly; its light reflected everywhere, throwing images, colourful images into the air. There was also a cylindrical platform in the center of the room, below the chandelier, both connected through a beam of light bluish light. Cynthia walked her way slowly to the platform, savouring the beauty of the chamber.

There was a lone and flat object hovering and rotating in the beam of light. Cynthia recognized it as the Icicle Shard. She walked up the stairs around the platform to it. There was a plague there that wrote the following words:

Take it,

And be free of freedom.

Leave it,

And be imprisoned of destruction.

Destroy it,

And you will be sure that you shall never leave this place.

Protect it,

And you will be sure that you shall always leave the world of demolition.

Take care,

Auraer.

Cynthia took this as a test of bravery and confirmation. Take it or leave it? She thought. She read the words again. She then decided to take it. As she stretched out her hand to take the shard, the entire chamber rumbled and quaked. Cynthia quickly took the shard and pocketed it. She turned round to see flashes of blue light that signaled someone was using Ice Beam. She called out her Togekiss and teleported herself out to the garden.

Wheels in Cynthia's mind turned rapidly. The repels haven't lasted long enough to be out of use. Then why did the pokemon guards attacked? She frowned. Just then, gears clicked. There are other intruders in this palace! However, just as she figured it out, someone stepped out of the shadows and shot a tranquillizer bullet at her. Cynthia only managed to give the Icicle Shard to her Togekiss and commanded it to leave her and give the shard to Jarlo and Bryan. She then fainted. The last thing she saw was the flash of light that signaled Togekiss's departure.

---

Cyrus and his team lowered themselves down the dark circular hole. They landed on a smooth and cold surface. Cyrus whispered into his microphone to ask his men to spread out, find Cynthia, remain silent, and use night vision. He, on the hand went down to the garden. He found a battered supersonic sensor machine on the ground. This showed that someone came here before. He hid himself into the shadows.

Sure enough, within moments, a flash appeared in the garden. Cynthia came through with her Togekiss. Cyrus raised his tranquillizer gun, aimed and shot her in her arm. She passed an object from her breast pocket to her Togekiss before falling down. Cyrus commanded his men to abandon all missions and regroup at the tower as he walked towards his prize.

"Cynthia…" muttered Cyrus. He smiled for the second time that day.

A/N: Sigh, slow update…


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 14**

A/N: School's busy. And the story's edited to suit the next chapter. ;) Thanks Queenofinsanity, for your geographical help!

"_Nepal_? We are going to _Nepal_?" exclaimed Dawn, her eyes bulging out of her sockets.

Bryan nodded curtly. He had just told them that the Book revealed the Draco plate to be kept in a shrine in the highest mountain in the world –Mt. Everest. He had also told them that the three of them were going to go there themselves, because Jarlo and Bryan both have their own duties to do. Suddenly, Carla spoke up.

"Can I follow them, Dad?" she said, pouting. However, she seemed to know the answer already. She braced herself.

"No, dear. You must stay here. The place's too dangerous, and you just barely gotten your pokemon. How about staying here with me?" Jarlo said this slowly and calmly as he could. Carla's emotional outburst was not something you would want to experience first handedly.

Carla turned to Bryan. All he had to do is to say 'yes' and her father would surely agree. Bryan seemed to struggle for a moment before he closed his eyes and shook his head slowly. Carla's head drooped down and she slumped away to her room. Ash, Dawn and Brock looked at her with much sympathy. They then looked at Bryan, whose hands were now holding three pairs of orange spectacles and three silver cylindrical capsules. He handed the spectacles and capsules to them.

"Each of you gets one. The spectacles are the newest version of ViewCams and the capsules are electromagnetic heating capsules to keep you warm at the mountains. Everest Mountain isn't called the 'third pole of the world' for nothing, you know," said Bryan, smiling. Jarlo, on the other hand, were already typing feverishly on the computer. Beside him, a machine started to hum. Ash and co saw a portal being opened on the metal table.

"You're taking the portal to the mountains. It's safe and non-troublesome as you don't need to bypass all those customs and such."

"Are you sure it's safe?" asked Dawn, frowning. The portal looked menacing and it seemed to threaten to suck them all up into it.

"It's 100 percent safe."

"What if we get caught?" asked Brock worriedly.

"You won't," assured Jarlo. "The mountains are a secluded place and anyone who saw you would probably think that it's just a hallucination from the extreme cold anyway."

"It's not a very good assurance," commented Brock.

"Now then, can you three please position yourself on the table? The portal is going to be completed. Oh, by the way, after you have retrieved the plate, give me a call on your ViewCam or using your Poketch," continued Jarlo.

"And how do we do that?" asked Ash.

"The ViewCam has a very advanced Artificial Intelligence. Just say 'VC' before issuing a command, like 'VC call Jarlo'," answered Jarlo.

Ash helped Brock and Dawn onto the table before climbing up it. The portal buzzed and crackled with electricity. Time and Space seemed to warp before it. They hesitated for a moment before stepping through the portal. Their bodies were swallowed hungrily through it.

"Good luck, Auraers," muttered Bryan before taking his Gardevoir out for teleportation, leaving Jarlo alone in the discussion room.

-

Ash, Dawn and Brock materialized thousands of kilometers from their initial location. They landed on their feet. Ash started by looking around him. Everest Mountain was a bare place, only snow and rocks as far as the eyes could see. The ViewCam registered thirty degrees below zero. Ash thanked Bryan for his heating capsules silently. Without it, he might be frozen to death in this place where hell might actually freeze over. He turned to his friends, who were examining carvings on an ancient-looking stone block. Miraculously, it seemed to not accumulate any snow on the top of it. He stomped his way through snow for a few meters to reach them. They turned at the sound of crunched ice under Ash's shoes.

"Hey Ash, check this out." Brock motioned him to read the carvings. Ash moved closer. He read the carvings aloud.

"In the mountains the councils awaits, for the next generation of the Auraers that came, those who are worthy to read this stone, must prepare themselves for the great battle,"

"Now that's not really hard to interpret," mused Ash.

"Yeah, one thing though, isn't supposed to be written in Nepalese, instead of English, considering that we _are_ in Nepal," Brock said while scratching his chin, his brow was furrowed in deep thought.

"Well, maybe there is a magic in that stone?" asked Ash.

"Yeah…and there's probably Magikarp swimming around you," said Dawn sarcastically, while rolling her eyes.

"Really, how come I couldn't see it?" replied Ash wryly.

"It's probably because you don't have eyes." Dawn smirked.

Brock cut in before they could argue further. "No matter how did it happen, we must find this 'council' the stone was talking about."

Suddenly, Jarlo's voice came to their ears. "Hello, I trust everything is alright?"

"Do you count being alive, and finding a stone block with carvings that with legible words on it alright?" said Ash.

"A stone block? Let me see…Dawn, could you issue the command for the ViewCam to zoom in and send a video to me?" Dawn was the closest to the stone block.

"VC zoom in and send video to Jarlo?" said Dawn uncertainly. The machine replied with a beep. Seconds later, Dawn's ViewCam narrowed into the stone block before a video message notification appeared in Jarlo's computer desktop. Carla, who was on the other computer doing other things her father asked her to do, now leaned in interestedly for a closer look.

There was a moment of silence, flipping of pages, and scribbling of a pen before Jarlo spoke again. There was a touch of mysticism in his voice.

"Now then, the council of Auraers…"

-

Commander Salium breathed a sigh of relief as his ship landed on the shores of a vast underground cave. The Team Elphar mother ship had dived into the deep Hoenn Sea two minutes before the frigates sent by that traitor, Cyrus, came to investigate. It was a very close call for them, too close.

"Now then," Ellen thought.

Suddenly, the computer beep once more and the whole control booth darkened. The transparent viewing glass pane tinted black. Every body jumped as Galaxian's face filled the booth. His face wore a grim smile.

A/N: Mysteries again, eh? Sorry it came this late.

Next, the sun and the moon, Cyrus and Cynthia.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 15

A/N: And…I'm back! Enjoy this story!

Cynthia felt tranquil. She was at peace at herself. She had never felt so close to the Aura inside her. She was hovering, floating and rotating in her mind, feeling her memories flew past saw herself, in first person view, as a baby, crawling towards her beloved mother and father. Then she saw men, taking over her house, snatching away her father, leaving her, her mother, and her grandmother whimpering in a corner. After that, her mother died out of worry in her sickbed. She also saw her grandmother, even with her old and wrinkled face, showing strong determination and courage, vowing to her to train her as the strongest trainer in the world, as the Champion of the Sinnoh Region. Cynthia remembered her grandmother's exact words that she would not die until Cynthia was the Champion. Cynthia felt a little tearful as she saw the memory of the day she got her first Pokemon, Gible by Professor Rowan.

Suddenly, she was awoken with a rough jolt. She composed herself and opened her eyes a little too hastily. Bright light seared her eyes and she forced them closed again. She blinked until her vision returned.

She found herself sitting upright, bound by steel chains on a vertical metal board. It felt cool under her touch. Cool. She suddenly remembered the fiasco at the Artic circle. She had been shot by a tranquilizer gun by an unknown person in the shadows. The dart was also an anti-teleportation device. She had given the important shard to her Togetic. She tried to free herself. However, the chains had her so tight that she could barely move or breathe.

She looked around. She was in a room that was covered in steel, ceiling to floor, with a chair and a table in between(both also made of steel). There was also a single light bulb radiating bright light hanging from the ceiling.

Her mind assessed the situation. She was bound tightly, which suggested that she was a prisoner of someone, possibly the person who shot her. The palace guards were attacking something else, which meant that the person had a group after her, considering that the mystery person could not have teleported himself without the teleport flash. And the room setting was a typical interrogating setting. All these piled up to a grim conclusion. She was to be made to talk as a captured prisoner.

-

Cyrus waited patiently on his plush Director Chair. It was more of a throne actually, a throne from which he would issue orders to his troops. It was also his chosen place for a temporary rest, apart from his room. His team of Team Galaxy soldiers was on their way back to their base from their mission in the seas of the West, while his assistant was compiling data about their newest fugitive—Cynthia.

After a few minutes of finger drumming, Tom, his assistant finally handed him the necessary files. He abruptly stood up and nodded curtly to the two grunts that were standing beside him. They followed behind him as Cyrus walked briskly to the door which led to the room.

Cyrus bypassed the electronic security panel and walked into the room. He found his prisoner wide awake. As she heard the door open and saw the first who walked inside, her face shown astonishment before it scrunched up in spite.

Cyrus kept his face blank and impassive as he sat down to meet Cynthia. The bodyguards instinctively stood at his side.

As Cynthia saw Cyrus cross though the doors into the room, she was initially surprised, before her brain reminded her that it was Cyrus who captured her. If anything, it made her hate him more. She can't believe that she actually devoted her heart to him years before. She glared at him menacingly as he sat o the chair in front of her. He did not flinch.

He opened his mouth to talk. Cynthia closed her eyes and pretended to not listen to anything he says. However, her ears were hanging on to every word that he was saying. Cyrus's tone was cold and monotonous. His face was a mask of stone-hardness. Cynthia felt her body did an involuntary shudder, more out of being unused to hearing Cyrus's smooth voice than fear.

-

"Cynthia…It's been long since we last meet," said Cyrus.

Damn well you should know, thought Cynthia angrily.

"I heard that you became an Auraer," Cyrus slowly revealed some information on her.

So? Thought Cynthia.

"And you had tried to take away a particular historical artifact away from the palace,"

Cynthia's eyes were peeking out now, a sweat forming on her brow.

"And," Cyrus paused for a psychological dramatic effect, "that you and your 'friends' are trying to resummon an extremely ancient Pokemon--Arceus."

It was the trump card. Cynthia immediately opened her eyes. She had not known that Cyrus was this well informed. She felt her mind naked before him, that every 'secret' plan was bare to him.

For Cyrus on the other hand, it was mostly just a matter of guesswork. The first two stumps was true, but the other two were merely intelligent guesses. Inwardly, he smiled, while his physical face outside remained impassive and cold. It wasn't easy to trick someone who had the same intelligence as him. And from the looks of Cynthia's face, he guessed right.

"Cynthia." He said this as forcefully as he could. He was pleased to see her shiver a little.

"Normally, I would simply torture them to get the advanced information I demanded. However, as you're a guest, I would like to try something different." Cyrus smiled, baring his sharp tooth, giving the impression of a pointed-toothed shark.

-

Cynthia felt herself being chopped across the neck. She fainted, though her mind did not. She used her Aura to sense her surroundings. Cyrus was leaning close now, his hands holding something. However, her Aura was unable to sense the foreign object. She frowned in her mind. Suddenly, she felt as if she was hit by a sledgehammer. Her mind closed itself as it collapsed inwardly. Cynthia struggled to keep her mind awake. Before long, she finally succumbed to the darkness that consumed her.

-

Cyrus had placed the necklace, not unlike to the one he put on Galaxian, on her neck. Cyrus felt a slight tingle as he touched her bare milky skin after he shoved her mane of blonde hair aside and put the necklace on her. He quickly dismissed it. He then sat back on his chair and nodded to the grunt. The grunt stepped forward and brought out a tiny bottle filled with yellow liquid before opening and placing it under Cynthia's nose. She jerked awake. The grunt moved away.

Cyrus spoke confidently.

"Cynthia?"

Cynthia's eyes were two pools of blankness. Her face were emotionless as she spoke.

"Yes, master?"

Cyrus smiled. One down, eight more to go, he thought, as he motioned to the grunt to bring her to release the chains.

A/N: Yay! Another chappie done!


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 16

A/N: Sorry for the late update!

"Now then, the Aura Council. After the creation of the world, 17 races of humans roamed the earth, forming 17 different nations, each having their own empire. Most of times were times of peace. However, war sparked and the nations found themselves in battle. They took sides and each of the empires was devastated. The three fairy Pokemon deities saw this and decided that a new nation is needed, a new nation which will remain as a neutral position and lead the other nations. Thus, the Aura nation was created. It was in turn led by a council of nine members, each representing a different human aspect: courage, guts, wits, intelligence, luck, emotion, patience, bond and spirit. The Aura Council ruled the nations peacefully for 10000 years before a terrible catastrophe called the Corruption hit the earth. The nations were separated again, and the Council members were scattered around the world, reincarnating at each century. Ash, Dawn, you were both chosen because you two were reincarnations of Courage and Bond respectively."

Ash, Dawn and Brock were listening intently. Dawn seemed a little shocked as she was proclaimed as a reincarnation of a Council member. They looked at each other. Ash bent down and stretched out his hand to touch the stone block. Pikachu jumped down to his side.

"So, this block basically tells us that there's a council somewhere here and Dawn and me have to prepare for a battle?" asked Ash.

"As it seems, yes," confirmed Jarlo. Dawn also squatted down to touch the stone. Dawn's hands felt their way around the outline of the block and her fingers touched Ash's. Both of them withdrew their hands sheepishly. Just then, they both fainted and fell down on the snow.

Brock had been surveying their surroundings to find a place for temporary shelter when he heard snow scrunching sounds in front of him. Ash and Dawn were nowhere to be found! Just then, he found them on the snow covered ground. Pikachu was trying to wake Ash up. Suddenly, Jarlo's voice came screeching into his ear.

"Alert! Alert! Blizzard coming! Find a shelter and get out of the way!" shouted Jarlo.

Sure enough, his ViewCam also reported a snowstorm coming their way with an ETA of twenty five seconds. He saw the winds around him picking up speed. He looked down to his friends. He had spotted a cave nearby which could be used but there was no way he could get both of them to the cave within twenty seconds. Just then, Brock's Toxicroak jumped out of its Pokeball and heaved Ash onto its shoulder. Pikachu quickly helped. Brock looked on, a little astonished, before he hastily picked Dawn up and brought them to the cave.

The winds outside the cave howled and screeched deafeningly. Brock sighed as he sat on a rock a few meters away from the cave entrance. Beside him, Pikachu and Toxicroak sat side by side. Toxicroak was croaking loudly. It seemed to be shivering. Brock jumped, started. He had almost forgotten that Toxicroak feared cold as much as it fears heat. The mucus on its skin would dry up even in cold. He quickly opened his bag pocket and took out a tube of gel. He squeezed some gel on his hands, and lathered it evenly over Toxicroak's body. Toxicroak gave out a croak of relief as the gel was spread over its body. Brock grinned embarrassedly. He thought of the first time he met it. They both had been good friends and they shared a mutual bond together. Toxicroak always seemed to know what Brock was thinking. A few minutes later, Brock was done. He wiped his hands. Though Toxicroak's body was covered in poison, Brock had developed a natural immunity to it after suffering so many Poisonjabs from it.

Brock turned and looked at Ash and Dawn. They were laying there, their faces a mask of serenity. He squinted at the back of the cave. It was too dark. However, something inside his heart compelled him to explore the cave. The feeling grew until it became a necessity. He called Jarlo.

"Jarlo? Are you there?" asked Brock as he pressed the intercom button.

"The ViewCam screen can show my status. It's connected to a proximity sensor to sense my presence. When I'm within two meters of the computer, it would show that I'm available. Any further than that and I'm either busy or away. So, what's the problem?" replied Jarlo.

"Does the ViewCam have a indirect light source?"

"There's a xenon pencil light on it, yes. Just command it to open for you,"

"Okay, thanks," Brock closed the channel.

Brock walked a few meters until he really couldn't see anything. Behind him, Toxicroak was following him. "VC open pencil light," instantly his surroundings was bathed in bright white light. He continued walking. A few Zubats flew overhead. The cave floor was covered in a thin sheet of snow. As he walked, he thought of his first cave visit with his father, Flint. They went into the cave in Mount. Moon, near his hometown of Pewter town. He had even got his first pokemon, an Onix, there. He smiled contently.

After another ten meters, he saw some light peeking out ahead. Brock's head furrowed. He really didn't expect that to happen. He quickly rushed up front and saw that the light was coming behind a stone wall. He wanted to check it out but he thought about waiting for Ash and Dawn to wake up. They were friends, and friends do things together. He began walking back.

--

Commander Salium ordered a troop of elite soldiers for the next mission. Galaxian had told them of Cyrus's plan and the next move. They were to protect the same group of people they were ordered to capture the night before. Nothing must go wrong or the consequences will be severe. Ellen Salium sighed. A few hours ago, he was simply a lawbreaker. Now, he was a lawbreaker, a fugitive from a childhood friend, and a battered soldier. This day was not going to get any worse, right? Thought Ellen.

A/N: Sorry again for the late update-and the cliffhanger-. It's school, parents and writer block all wrapped together. Review, please!


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 17

A/N: Enjoy. Extended and mended.

Ash and Dawn woke up and found themselves standing in a completely white coloured room. They looked around and found no one there at all. The air was sterile and reminded them of hospitals. Ash opened his mouth to speak but no voice came out at all. Dawn tried too with similar results.

'Dammit,' swore Ash in his brain.

'Ash, don't spit vulgarities in your brain,' thought Dawn. Ash rolled his eyes.

'So, now we can communicate through thoughts and not voices? Great. Now I have _you_ in my head,'

'Hey! I didn't ask for it!' Just as Ash was about to retort back, A deep gruff voice boomed around the blank room.

"Auraers!" said the voice.

'How come he could talk but we can't?' thought Ash. Dawn simply shrugged. She tried to speak, but nothing came out.

"There is no need for speech. I shall only speak once. In this mountain is a cave within another cave. In the cave is a shrine. In the shrine is a council. And in that council is a man. He shall select and challenge one of you. Win and obtain the shard. If not, another may not try. Fail and the world goes with you,"

Ash and Dawn turned to look at each other. They both frowned.

'Well, this certainly clear up the whole encounter,' thought Ash sarcastically. Dawn simply sighed. Before long, they both went black again.

-

Commander Salium strapped on his black plastic tight suit and pulled up the zipper. Around him, the hangar was a hive of activity. Technicians rushed around checking if the frigates are up and ready to go while healers handed back the pokemon of soldiers. Ellen sighed again. The mission required the best of the best soldiers. Nothing must go wrong. However, some of the best people were sent to Cyrus's group. He had to make do with someone of lesser experience in his team.

"Sir! The frigates are ready!" shouted a technician. Time to leave, thought Ellen, as he walked to brief his troops.

-

As Brock went back, he found Ash and Dawn awake and well. In fact, they seemed extremely refreshed. He quickly turned off the pencil light. The both of them turned their heads towards him as they heard the crunching sound of rubber on ice. Pikachu was snuggling on Ash's lap. Both of them were chatting over something before he came. Brock addressed them. Toxicroak croaked loudly in greeting.

"So, are you two up to exploring a cave within a cave?" asked Brock. Their brows furrowed.

"A cave within a cave?" asked Dawn. Brock nodded.

"I found a secret tunnel blocked by a huge rock wall while exploring this cave," explained Brock. Ash quickly jumped up. Pikachu scrambled in alarm. Dawn eyes bulged in response.

"A cave in a cave in a mountain…" muttered Dawn. She nodded to Ash. The voice had told them about it.

"Lead the way, Brock," said Ash.

As they walked, Brock asked the Auraers about their sudden unconsciousness before.

"We kind of went to a room where a voice told us to fight a man in a shrine in a cave within a cave," answered Ash. Brock simply nodded.

Brock brought them to the place where he found the stone wall. However, this time, the wall was completely open. Five men and women dressed in brown robes greeted them. Their heads were shaved of hair. They bowed their heads and put their hands together. Ash, Dawn and Brock looked surprised.

"Greetings to the two Auraers and the Mentor," chorused the five.

"M-mentor?" stuttered Ash. They nodded towards Brock. He arched his eyebrows.

"The Abbot requests your audience," said the tallest of the group, a man of about 6 feet with dark skin. His voice was deep and calming.

"The Abbot?" asked Dawn. The man nodded.

"Well, the voice did tell us about it," said Ash.

"Please follow us," said the woman beside the tall monk. The trio shrugged. Might as well follow them or get frozen in the mountain.

-

Commander Salium's stealth frigate reached the Himalayans after ten minutes. The computer registered a large airship heading his way. Galaxian had been right about Cyrus's plans. And by the looks of it, he is very determined to get the three of them.

Even thought it's virtually impossible to sense and seek out the stealth frigate, which can fool radar, infrared and most importantly, light, Ellen's heart was still beating wildly. He looked around the control room. Everyone seemed a little calmer than he is. Ellen silently breathed in. Time to try out something, thought Ellen. He had suspicions after he found out that he could seemingly communicate telepathically with others.

He closed his eyes and relaxed his mind. He tried to feel out with his mind, only to get nothing in return. His forehead got strained with sweat as he tried and tried with similar results. Ellen almost gave up when he felt the slightest of the slightest 'touch' of his surroundings. He got excited and patiently allowed it to spread throughout his consciousness. Finally, he managed to sense the every occupant, every single object in control room. He opened his eyes and panted heavily. The session had taken most of his mental energy. However, Ellen never felt any exhausted at all. His suspicions were confirmed. He was an Auraer!

A/N: It's shorter...Sorry. Review please. :)


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 18

A/N: It's been long… Previous story altered.  
---

Ash, Dawn, and Brock followed the five monks through the stone door  
archway into the cave. What they saw next got their jaws hanging for a  
full minute.  
They saw humans flying, with no support whatsoever. Close observation  
showed a certain blue glow surrounding them. The air was peculiarly  
fresh and free from any pollutants. Ash breathed in and savoured it.

Psychic. thought Ash.  
Yeah. agreed Dawn.

The inside of the cave was unimaginably huge. There was no visible  
ceiling and the whole cave was illuminated by an unknown light source.  
They were standing on a rock platform hanging out on the wall. Ash  
peered over the cliff and saw houses floating around neatly in a  
spiral form from the near bottomless cave. Pikachu, quickly scrambled  
down from Ash's shoulder. It had a minor fear of height that it has  
never been able to get rid of.

Dawn turned to her left and saw the monk nearest to them, a bald  
headed five-footer close his eyes and frowned in concentration. A blue  
glow surrounded all seven humans, Pikachu and Toxicroak. Ash felt his  
weight taken from him and his body felt considerably lighter. He and  
Brock has had this sensation many times before in the past, so he had  
much experience on this but Dawn was a greenhorn on this. He held out  
to her spiraling body and set her straight. He cringed a little at the  
skin contact. Dawn blushed.

They floated straight up to the top of the inner mountain. The tall  
monk opened up his mouth to speak.

"May I introduce myself; I'm Hakera, High priest of the Dragon  
Shrine." He did not introduce the others. They simply look straight in  
front. The trio smiled. They were a little grateful that he decided to  
break the ice.

"I'm Ash, from Pallet town. This is Brock, and this, Dawn." Ash  
gestured to the other two. Brock waved. Dawn smiled. Hakera simply  
nodded before joining the others in silence.

Ash looked in front of him. He noticed that they were heading towards  
a huge building looming over them. He viewed below him. The houses  
seemed like tiny ants from here.

They arrived at the front garden of the Dragon Shrine. It was lavishly  
filled with various intimidating gold and silver statues of Dragons  
like Salamence and Garchomp. There was even a statue of Rayquaza,  
seemingly made of emerald, hovering above them, with a soft green glow  
pulsing from it. The statues highlighted a path to a large archway.  
However, there was nothing beyond that. Ash raised his eyebrows.

"Follow the path. Through the doorway. We shall not follow you. It is  
your path, not ours," said the five monks.

Brock sighed. Ash's right eye twitched. Not a good sign, in any case.  
Great. This just keeps getting better and better. Thought Ash. He  
faintly sensed Dawn's chuckle somewhere.

A/N: Until next time, folks.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 19

A/N: Let the mayhem begin!

Professor Newton was sweating excitedly. He has just confirmed the explanation for a particularly troublesome phenomenon that had been bothering him for weeks. He finally got to answer how humans, made out of matter, get to survive the antimatter and breathe in the Distorted Dimension. His Shieldon sat obediently beside him as his fingers typed feverishly over the virtual keyboard. Apparently, there is a third kind of matter, called distorted matter, present everywhere. When something made of matter enters the Distorted Dimension, the distorted matters will surround the matter to prevent annihilation, which occurs when antimatter meets matter, and vice versa. Distorted matter also acts as a kind of 'bridge' to link matter and antimatter, thus turning antimatter air into matter air.

Just then, the computer beeped a warning to him. He took a peep at it. It turned out to be human shaped interference. It was probably another person sucked in through the Distorted Dimension (Duddy, as Prof. Newton affectionately called it). Nevertheless, he will never forget the day where Giratina had shrunk to human-sized and he made the fatal mistake of ignoring the warning. He got a singed buttock for his trouble.

Professor Newton quickly recalled his Shieldon back to its Pokeball before hastily hiding before a wide tower that looked reminiscently like the Tokyo Tower. He caught a glimpse of a human with a head of black hair and blue eyes. He looked at his computer and expected to see distorted matter swarm towards the man. He had managed to use supersonic waves of a certain frequency to detect distorted matter. However…the computer reported no distorted matter swarming around the human whatsoever.

Newton paled. The only chance of something from the matter world not having distorted matter swarm around it without suffering annihilation is impossible. The professor checked his computer screen again. If it were originally antimatter, then distorted matter would just swarm away. Alas, nothing happened. Professor Newton swallowed his heart beating wildly beneath his chest. The only possible explanation would be that….

Sure enough, the man glowed brightly as his human-sized body began to enlarge and expand into an enormous behemoth. Professor Newton watched on, astounded, as Giratina took form and flew away, leaving the professor in its wake.

-

Giratina flew slowly through the dimension. It was not really in a hurry to get the shard for those humans. Helping them will revive his hibernating father, but it was crucial to the plan it and Groudon had hatched up, to chain Arceus down so that it will not be able to interfere with the plan.

Giratina waved away the Unown sentries with its limbs. The special shard had been entrusted to him, as part of the Distorted Dimension. The shard was made of distorted matter, and it was encased in a black sphere. Giratina extended its limbs into the sphere and pried the shard out of it.

_Father, await my return. This time, you shall not interfere,_ thought Giratina.

-

"Daddy, don't you think Bryan's been out for a bit too long?" asked Carla.

Jarlo seemed glued to the screen. "He's going to be back."

Just then, a portal appeared on the table. Bryan stepped out of it. He nodded. Jarlo smiled before taking something like a metal bar from the table, stood up and scanned it over Bryan's body. It beeped and an green LED flashed.

"Radiation level close to zero, hmmm..." said Jarlo as he examined the number rating on the screen of his computer.

"How's the status of the Ones?" asked Bryan, as he walked around taking a quick survey of the computer screens.

"I lost contact with them after they entered a cave, within a cave in Mount. Everest."

Bryan nodded. "Intriguing. I wonder how they fare."

-

Cyrus pressed the intercom button on his control panel.

"Sent it down." A shuttle departed from his ship.

_Solaris…_a voice called out to him.

'Yes?' thought Cyrus.

_The plan goes well. Proceed._

'Yes,sir. The team in Xaben continues to search.'

_The underground facility have not been found yet?_

'No, not yet. My men will find it. It's just a matter of time.'

_Hmm...well then. Continue._

'Yes, sir'. Cyrus focused back to the present. In front of him, Mount. Everest loomed over him.

Soon, girl, soon, thought Cyrus.

-

Galaxian sat cross-legged on the metal ground as he meditated. Cyrus has proved a little useful and easily manipulated. However, the base near Xaben have not been taken. Nevertheless, it is best if he concentrated on the present task. For the plan to materialize, they had to capture another female Auraer.

Galaxian mentally leafed through his mental memories. He thought his precious children, the children that have never tasted a father's love for the whole of their lives...He thought of Delia...Johanna...and...

He quickly banished the thoughts into the deepest pits of his mind and locked them up. He cannot afford to be emotionally fragile at this moment. _Especially at this moment_, he thought. _Not when I'm so close..._

He slept for the first time in two days.

-

Ash, Dawn and Brock gingerly stepped in front the archway. The archway was golden, with intricate carvings of dragons from top to bottom. The side of it was also studded with an amazing number of precious stones. Ash peered at the back of the archway. Identical to the front, stone and gold.

"Shall we?" asked Brock. Ash raised an eyebrow.

"I'll go first," said Ash. His voice was final. He stepped in front the archway and put one foot in. However, the archway have got other things in its mind. It sucked all three of them into it.

The journey was quick, painless, and above all, surprising calming. Ash saw his body flying through a multicoloured tunnel. They reappeared into a sterile white room, not unlike the last one that Ash and Dawn entered. An old man, who was holding a staff, was waiting for them. He wore simple brown robes of a monk.

"I presume that you are the two Auraers and the Mentrayar?" he asked.

"Mentrayar?" Dawn asked. The old man gestured to Brock.

"Mentor on Earth. Mentrayar. I'm the Abbot. I think you have been told?"

"Yeah…" said Ash suspiciously.

"You. Battle with me." The Abbot pointed his staff to Dawn.

"What? Me?" Dawn's eyes bulged like a Goldeen's.

"Yes. You. I've told you before, in the Room of Silence."

"Wait a minute. That was you?" said Ash impulsively.

"Yes. I believe we're a bit short of time." Having said that, he banged his staff on ground. A battle field appeared. The Abbot walked swiftly to the other side. Even though he looked fragile, he had the energy of a young man.

"You shall battle only one of my pokemon. However, lose..._and the world goes with you."_The words seemed oddly familiar.

Dawn looked round to the Ash and Brock. She then shrugged. _Ah well, don't worry..._ she thought.

Dawn took a battle stance. Ash and Brock moved to the side. "Come on, we can get beat this person. Go Mamoswine!"

The Abbot showed a phantom of a smile. "Garchomp."

The enormous mammoth stood facing a vicious-looking shark-like pokemon. Mamoswine roared. Garchomp did not flinch. Instead, it stretched out its wings and closed it's eyes. Dawn instantly realized that Garchomp was using Agility. The only chance of attacking it…was to use a mass area effect attack move.

"Blizzard, Mamo!" Dawn commanded. A blast of cold winds, coupled with snow and ice shards erupted from the mammoth-sized pokemon's mouth. Dawn was confident that this would knock it down, if not damage it. The field was soon turned into a snowland.

Just then, the spinning form of Garchomp came shooting out of the blizzard and a glowing fin slammed into Mamoswine. Garchomp had used Twister to evade the blizzard! Mamoswine stumbled back. Dawn's eyes bulged in horror. Mamoswine was no good in speed and attack compared to Garchomp. The only way out is…

"Mamo, icebeam on the ground!" A light blue ball of energy focused in its mouth before freezing cold bolts froze the ground of the field, effectively covering half of it.

Garchomp tried to speed across the field but instead, it slipped and sled across straight into Mamoswine. Dawn smiled.

"Body slam!"

"Brick break sky uppercut!" said the Abbot serenely, without hesitation.

The two slammed into each other. Dawn quickly called Mamoswine to use ice shard. It caught Garchomp unawares and it was beaten back to a corner of a field. Both of the pokemon looked exhausted. And only three minutes passed.

"Enough!" roared the Abbot. "You've done well."

"But I didn't win!" protested Dawn.

"Certain battles are won by simply showing your skills, contests are such."

"Oh." Dawn nodded in understanding.

The Abbot banged his staff on the ground. The pokemon was returned to their pokeballs and the white room appeared again.

"Come," He beckoned to the trio, "the Dragon Shard has waited for hundreds of millennia for this."

A/N: By now…all should be clear…. :)


End file.
